Welcome to Litsy!

This is a quirky feel good kind of book. Emma, a young woman unsure of her future, is called home to a small town bc her father is dying. His brain disease has him acting in strange ways - talking to ghosts, seeing animals in strange places & obsessing over a missing person case. There is a bittersweet humour here & quirks - eg some narration from the ghosts in the local cemetery. I loved the occasional thoughts from the dog and the fox 💕

This book is a lot. There is a lot going on, a lot of it is quirky, a lot quirky but there is also a lot of heart and charm as well. Once you find your footing you get swept away as part of the chorus of voices in the vivid town setting as the Starling family deals with issues big and small that threaten to divide them. I had to go to work today with only twenty pages left to read and raved home to finish it.

It took me so long to finish this book and I don‘t quite know why but it‘s somehow fitting as this is all over the place. There‘s ghosts, a magical healing touch, there‘s drug addiction and animals, there‘s a missing person case, brain diseases, a disfunctional family, a small town, and it still works. It‘s not too much.

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“That‘s why we like living with animals so much; they exhibit their joy so outwardly, remind us how to be better alive.”

Oh, my heart! I was so delightfully charmed by this book. It‘s the perfect blend of emotional and funny, eccentric yet authentic. It sparkles with originality and a shining bright spirit. A new favorite.🎧

A delightful batch of quirky voices (some narrators reside in the town graveyard🪦) make this a fun/funny yet moving novel of a family and town going through some heavy stuff. The interspersed historical excerpts add depth, the role of the animals and town ghosts add heart and quirk. Lovable characters all. Not light subjects treated in a very fresh way. Suspend your disbelief and jump in! 🦊🐶🐻

In playing eenie-meenie-minie-mo for my next read on the TBR, a charming map will tip the scale every time!
#bookswithmaps #mapsinbooks

“That‘s why we like living with animals so much; they exhibit their joy so outwardly, remind us how to be better alive.”

What I thought would be a cute book about animals (clearly I did not read the synopsis before picking up this book) turned out to be so much better than my imagination. Loved how the book was from a POV of dead characters and all the unique representations of the different animals was just 🤌🏽

U for A to Z challenge!

I finished Unlikely Animals yesterday, just before Annie Hartnett's speaking engagement tonight. I had met her years ago, before Rabbit Cake came out (my signed copy is an ARC). I have loved both of her novels so much. Unlikely Animals was absolutely charming. She said tonight that she has another book that will hopefully come out in June of 2025. Yay!

#NaturalLitsy #MidWinterSolace

My #FridayNightShare pick this week is a book that made my favorites of 2022 list. Both funny & sad, very quirky, about life, family, hope & grief (& involving animals, a fox & a dog in particular) & it‘s narrated by the ghosts of the local cemetery. This book stole my heart. 💙💙💙

I loved this strange and funny book about a twenty-something woman who comes home and finds her family on the edge. Her father is hallucinating animals and it's causing problems for them all. The book name is perfect!

📷 from Bored Panda

The characters are charming, albeit a bit quirky. The plot is endearing as well as riddled with hidden gems. And, most importantly, the storyline solidifies the love of family, love of shared memories and the importance of enjoying the life you are given and the people you are lucky enough to call yours.

#BookBinge

Two feel hood favorites from my 2022 books read & each #InvolvesAnimals 🩵🐕🦊🐙💙

“That‘s why we like living with animals so much; they exhibit their joy so outwardly, remind us how to be better alive.”

I agree.

I'm feeling a lot more charitable towards this book after reading the author's note. I now understand what the author was trying to accomplish. Unfortunately, the narrative itself didn't quite manage to accomplish in 340 pages what the author's note did in 4. 1/?

Under the heading of 'silly rules': No Evil-Doing. 🤨

Imagine, next level therapy dog: don't just spend time cuddling puppy, float gently in puppy's mind. 🐶

Lovely lovely. A follow on the Our Town

Now reading in the MSU Library. Super excited, got a library card too.

Traveling, found a library with a fireplace and the digital book I am reading. So now sitting in front of the fire reading the physical copy.

I listened to this one. Well read with multiple narrators. Decent book.

#Pantone2023 @Clwojick

#MMD Pick for March 2023

#StoryGraph: fiction contemporary literary magical realism emotional reflective medium-paced
368 pages • first pub 2022

Please note, I am a big fan of magical realism and dark humor. If you like that kind of book this one will please you.

Publisher‘s blurb:
A lost young woman returns to small-town New Hampshire under the strangest of circumstances in this one-of-a-kind novel of life, death, and whatever comes after.

⭐️ ⭐️ 💫

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I loved this!

All the stars for strong character building, sweet plot lines, and just the right dose of magical thinking.

Witty, smart, and adorable but not saccharine. I already wish I could read it again for the first time.

@monalyisha your matching skills always impress me! I had a great list from @Chelsea.Poole to choose from for #AuldLangSpine and I was able to get to 6 of them in January! All were really good reads, Unlikely Animals and Rabbit Hutch were stand outs. I've got two more on the go (Lost and Found, and All That She Carried) and will continue to read more throughout the year!

Thanks Alyisha for another great year, & Chelsea for being a great partner!

Really very charming! Gentle on the reader for some of the right parts. Id love to read this author again. The history and ghostly angle was great, too. They provided some levity and a funny Greek chorus

I picked this up based on a recommendation from Annie B. Jones at The Bookshelf… so glad I did. Quirky characters, family dynamics, and learning just how you fit in (and how much you are loved). ❤️

I have no idea how this book escaped my attention before finding it on @Chelsea.Poole 's #auldlangspine list. It is 100% my kind of read. Delightfully quirky and heartfelt without being cheesy, light magical realism, a remarkable cast of characters surrounding a wonderfully dysfunctional family (who manage to function rather well despite it all). And it all comes together with the most madcap, bonkers, fantastic community theatre production. 👇

Finished this earlier this week. So glad I finally picked it up. I don‘t know what originally put it on my TBR because it‘s not my typical read at all. But I loved it.

Emma goes back home to NH to help take care of her sick father. She becomes a substitute teacher and you get a lot of ghostly perspectives.

This book dealt with some heavy topics but in a lightish way.

So glad for #ALSpine for bumping this up my list!

#JumpStart2023

Starting a new and quirky one suggested as a best of 2022 and I hadn't heard of it and only one format is available in the library

I'm just starting the tagged, and I can't help but picture the ghosts from Ghosts as the cemetery chorus.

#AuldLangSpine @Chelsea.Poole @monalyisha

#12Booksof2022 🎶 On the fifth day of Christmas my true love read to me, a cemetery chorus! 🎶

For my twelve, I‘m highlighting my favorite audiobooks of the year. Great books that were all the more enjoyable thanks to outstanding narration &/or production.

I did enjoy this one- just not as much as Rabbit Cake! Similar themes etc and maybe it was my frazzled, end of year mood. But a good read overall.

This may be one of my favorites of the year. The reader was excellent.

I don‘t know where to begin. It‘s like The Elegance of the Hedgehog. I just love the book and can‘t explain why.

The narrator was sublime. You find out very quickly who it is but I won‘t give it away. It makes the book magical.

5/5 🌟

Eeeeeee! This absolutely made my day!

A few days ago, we (the library) posted a little video on IG featuring some of my favorite books/genres/authors of the year. My favorite book I read this year has been Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett and she actually commented on the post! 😱 So cool!

My little bookish heart is SO happy! 🥹💕📚

If you want to see the video, the library's IG is @farmlib ! Read more 👇

Okay, I‘ve scrubbed through @DebinHawaii ‘s list! I‘ve read 6 of the books (which always a good sign honestly)! I might reread Cerulean Sea but we‘ll see. I have no idea what my library has yet either!

I‘m most excited for the top row of the books because they are definitely all in my wheelhouse. And I have never heard of a few.
The 2nd row is slightly out of my wheelhouse, but appeal to me.
The 3rd row will be a mix for me.

#AuldLangSpine

I loved Annie‘s book, Rabbit Cake, and I loved Unlikely Animals even more! I didn‘t even think of it being historical fiction until I read her note at the end. Loved the parts that were narrated by the (dead) folks in the cemetery. Loved the cast of flawed and eccentric characters! Dysfunctional family fiction at its best with ALLL the animals. Super duper good and I want more ♥️😊

I started our next #LitsyBookClub pick yesterday and continued it this afternoon. It‘s piqued my interest with ghosts and animals and quite a collection of characters.

While I listened to the #audiobook I made peanut butter pumpkin puppy treats for Luthien. We‘ve been going through lots of training treats, so I figured this was a more cost effective option. #DogsOfLitsy

First encounter with magical realism was with Marquez, Allende, moving on to Toni Morrison, Murakami and Carpentier. Reviews noted magical realism elements in this story of a young woman escaping a small New Hampshire town to go to medical school but who never went to classes and returned home as her professor father was hallucinating animals and palled around wait a ghost. Emma was regarded as a healer but has lost her touch, unable to save her..

I have loved Annie Hartnett since her first book Rabbit Cake. And this book her second book was no different, I adored it.

Our October book. Please join us in reading this month. A meeting time to discuss the book will be posted later this month.

Questions? Ask @Graciouswarriorprincess

A little audio walking today. Reading our October book for #LitsyBookClub It‘s 77deg and lovely in the shade. 🦊 🍁

Sent the book out today should be there Tuesday! Will be starting the other book today! #lmpbc15

Went to the library today and picked up these beauties 📚✨ Now I just have to decide which one to read first 😬

#amreading #currentlyreading #TBR

Finished this audiobook this morning. I enjoyed it as it went along. There were amusing things happening…lalala…then there was the wrap-up. It wasn‘t the end, but close to the end, and it was hilarious. So glad I listened to this one. #88 #BookSpin #BFC22

Loved this book in every aspect from start to finish. Set in a small New Hampshire town, Emma reluctantly comes home to help with her ailing father. Opioids, animals in a protected area, ghosts that watch all that goes on, lost friends, and a quirky family. Loved everything in this book. Fun and loving. Your first love is your family and those first best friends.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#LittensWantToKnow @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks #CurrentlyReading Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett on audio and La Cuentista by Donna Barbra Higuera a hardcover from the library. I also picked up True Biz by Sara Novic - the library is undergoing some renovations and I was worried I wouldn‘t be able to get books. And, my hold on The Shadow Sister by Lucinda Riley came in! So much for reading 2 books at a time.

This was delightfully odd and thoroughly enjoyable. A warm-hearted story about a messy family finding their way to each other in strange ways. It has a sort of barely contained wackiness to it that really is rather charming.