Welcome to Litsy!

Loving this one so far #currentlyreading Heard HBO is making adaptations of this book and The Glass Hotel https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wired.com/story/sea-of-tranquility-essay/amp

70/150 #unpopularopinion As much as I adored Station Eleven and enjoyed The Glass Hotel, this novel just did nothing for me. I found the characters flat and uninteresting, and the various time lines never came together for me as a coherent story. 3 ⭐⭐⭐

Time travel. Science fiction. Multiple, connected characters. I burned through this one and loved it.

I didn‘t love her previous book the Glass Hotel (beautiful writing but it felt fragmented). This has me hooked with the character writing and things are already tying together in an interesting way

I never reread books quickly, but I just couldn‘t stop thinking about this quiet time-traveling novel. The ending left me reeling the first time around and the plot felt completely different, knowing how it all played out. I listened to it on audio this time, which allowed me to process it in a new way. The book tour chapter was my favorite. Mandel‘s observations swing from big picture issues to simple personal reflections. Just beautiful.

Another lovely surprise from Libby! I'd better get reading! 😁

What an interesting book! Even when I figured out where it was going, I wasn‘t sure where it was going.

Anyway, that‘s a wrap on the #MarvelousMay readathon. All things considered, I‘m pleased with the outcome.

I don't think this wowed me as much as Station Eleven, but that wasn't much of a shocker. I'd say this is a book best experienced in 1-2 sittings if possible. I had to put it down and pick it back up enough to make the quickly shifting timelines and perspectives a little confusing. There were some really poignant quotes about the pandemic experience - ESJM is so talented!

Finished this on the train home yesterday. I really liked it, but didn‘t love it as much as some seem to do. My favourite parts were those about Olive; they felt spookily real despite being so far in the future.

I couldn‘t make my mind up about which I preferred between this and The Glass Hotel, so I scored it out of 10 before I looked at the score I gave TGH a couple of weeks ago. They both scored 8, so there you go… 🤷‍♀️

On my way to London to meet up with some lovely Littens for a bookshop crawl.

It‘s so long since I‘ve been on a train to London; I‘m enjoying listening to the tagged book while gazing out of the window, instead of reading my Kindle for a change.

Liked this a lot more than Station Eleven. Different time lines and different characters, very well interwoven.

#Gladstonerds @rockpools @squirrelbrain @TrishB @Oryx @Caroline2 @scripturient @Leniverse @jhod @jenniferw88 @Susanita @CGainor3 @RaeLovesToRead @Cathythoughts

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

#MarvellousMay @Andrew65

#Gladstonerds @rockpools @squirrelbrain @TrishB @Oryx @Caroline2 @scripturient @Leniverse @jhod @jenniferw88 @Susanita @CGainor3 @RaeLovesToRead @Cathythoughts

🌸Libby first told me it would be MANY weeks before the ebook would be available, but I was able to download it yesterday.
🌸I‘ve only read about 15% but I like it so far.
🌸I highlight ebooks and will write in a book once in a while if I own it.
#thoughtfulthursday

In short, not on par with Station Eleven but still enjoyed. I liked the plot but I wished there had been more character development. It look me a bit to get into the story. 3.5 to 4⭐

Okay, this is the first pandemic novel I‘ve read with Covid-19 mentioned and I was okay with it. We can‘t watch movies set during the pandemic, so I thought it would be the same.

However, at this point, I‘ll read anything by Emily St John Mandel. I loved this book. I dropped everything as soon as my library hold came in.

I loved seeing the connection with The Glass Hotel and Station Eleven. Starts in 1912 and goes to 2100+ with time travel.

4.5⭐/5⭐

The official TOB Summer Camp slate has been announced via Discord. #CampTOB #campTOB22 #CampLitsy

Friday off with a cat on my chest and a book in my hand 😻 I‘m halfway through the book and really enjoying it. I‘m sad it‘s so short.

A strong narrative propels this time travel tale, bringing all the pieces neatly together at the end, yet leaving me with a delightful sense of wonder & the question: What is reality? Also delightful: walk-ons by characters from The Glass Hotel, plus an obviously autobiographical section (set in 2203) about an author (who lives on a moon colony) touring one of her previous novels (about a pandemic) because it‘s being made into a film. #Canadian

He was utterly unnerved by the crowd. They were shaking hands, which even after all of his cultural-sensitivity training seemed like a bizarre thing to do in flu season, and kissing one another on the cheek. These people have no direct experience with pandemics, he reminded himself.
[A 25th-century time traveller visits 2007]

This was a really good sci fi novel. Quick read. Reminded me a little of Loki and Endgame.

The 9 day mid-month #MarvellousMay #readathon starts tomorrow.

My goals, dear @Andrew65, are
📘 Read and review(!) 4 ARCs
📙 Read 1 physical copy off the shelves
📗 Read this months book club book, tagged. It is also an ARC for me, but I'm not counting it toward the 4 that I want to read.

That's 6 books. Should be doable.

I pledge to get through each one by the end of June #SeaOfTranquillity#FirstSummerRead#TheTBRPileGrows

She is so good at writing stories with plots (real honest to goodness plots where lots happens and the stakes are high and then somehow making it not at all about the plot. Each of the the last three has felt like a meditation on how lonely and incredible human life is.

1. Tagged book and Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy

2. I don‘t mind music in the background. I can pretty much read with anything going on around me.

#Two4Tuesday
@TheSpineView
@THill want to play?

This is one of those rare things - a book I may have enjoyed more had it been longer! I loved the opening, and wanted to stay with Edwin on his journey. Olive‘s story made for perfect plane-reading. Mirella and Vincent - maybe reading The Glass Hotel would have helped me appreciate their story more?

And then there‘s Gaspery, who I almost wish I had an opinion on. But I just don‘t. He seems to sit in an uncomfortable position between mysterious

I can't really say much more praise that hasn't already been said. I loved the way the stories interconnect. Reading Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel first is helpful, but not totally necessary.

Amy ❤️ thank you for sending emotional support via a beautiful care package. The card is one of my mantras! I‘ve been singing Three Little Birds every day to myself- the necklace is so pretty, the tote is perfect for my car and farmers markets and I‘m super grateful for the book- sending you virtual love and hugs. I‘m so grateful for you! 😘😘😘😘😘

I‘m only number 240 on the holds list via my library‘s Libby! I think it would be quicker to go buy it lol

Beautiful story, writing just flows and even tho at times I wasn‘t sure where it was going, I still found myself enthralled.

I did something with this book that I‘ve never done before—when I got to the end, I restarted and listened again. I love how it all came together and wanted to dive back in with the knowledge of what was to come and see what else I could pick up along the way. I think Mandel is a superb writer, and she certainly doesn‘t disappoint here!

I‘m not even sure what to say about this other than it was amazing and the less you know about it going in the better off you‘ll probably be.

Just spotted this on your feed @Cinfhen and decided to join in! #readingbracket2022 @chasjjlee 💕

I love this so far, but wish I had more time to spend reading it. Pretty sure I could plow through it all in one sitting if I had the chance to read for more than 10 minutes a day!

I found this novel, a high-concept cartwheel through history, completely captivating. And even a bit hopeful. If, as Nicholson Baker says, every novel is answer to the question, “Is life worth living?“ Mandel's answer is a resounding yes.

You don't absolutely have to have read Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel, but if you have it will enrich your experience.

(Photo by Ben White for Unsplash)

I love everything she‘s written. More time travel here, but in a really interesting context. This book just…flows. It goes right by you and then you‘re at the end, and you think wow, I‘ve just read something. Plus there‘s a twist at the end.

About to start this one. 😊

Her writing is, as always, beautiful. I just didn‘t find any emotional connection to the story. I loved Station Eleven, disliked The Glass Hotel and this one is somewhere in between. It‘s a pick because I really wanted to see how she brought things together and it was very cleverly done.
Hope I‘ve remembered everyone in the tags.
#gladstonerds

Very grateful for a bank holiday today as I hadn‘t slept in my own bed since Wednesday with work and wedding! Having a quiet read before anyone else gets up and I get on with the million things that need doing.
Reading and tea first 😁

Trying not to cry in the coffee shop. Normal reader problems.

This book provided a reading experience that burrowed into my brain. It at once felt like a lived experience for me (the pandemic) but also completely out-of-this-world (literally!). This author is magical. Also, a great companion to The Glass Hotel which should be read first. Sci-fi isn‘t my jam but St. John Mandel‘s particular brand is perfection. So much contained in such a slim novel…I‘m amazed! Loved it.

Bookish lunch at the park! 😋📚💕 Did I bring three books with me today? Yes. Yes, I did! 😂

While I didn‘t like her previous book, this pandemic time travel novel held onto me and didn‘t let me go. I loved this: “Pandemics don‘t approach like wars, with the distant thud of artillery growing louder every day and flashes of bombs on the horizon. They arrive in retrospect, essentially. It‘s disorientating. The pandemic is far away and then it‘s all around you, with seemingly no intermediate step.”

Very relieved I liked it, being the proud owner of two copies would have felt a bit stupid if I didn't 😉.
As usual beautiful thoughtful writing, and just the right mix of reality and speculative science for me. Not quite up there with Station Eleven, but still a worthy companion. This edition has a bonus material - a chapter of the book with the book. And I now really want to read that fictional book!

Who wore it better?
I think the UK cover is nicer, but the US one had the postcards, so... Get both ❤️

Have you ever read a book that takes such hold of you that you‘re afraid of reading anything else by that author for fear of breaking the spell?

But I just couldn‘t resist giving this a try.

#stationelevenstolemyheart

I was waiting for a library loan, but I couldn‘t wait another 10 weeks, so I ordered this and it arrived today! I need to finish Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and then this will be my next read!

When you find the days date in the book you are reading. 🙌🏻

Happy happy. Got my signed US edition with postcards - wasn't easy to get this in the UK (I got it from Brilliant Books in Michigan in the end). And it's arrived a few days before the UK one is out. My weekend is sorted now.