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This was the April Bookclub pick. This was not a winner among the group.
Once I hit 50%, I really wanted to DNF. But because it was for bookclub, I decided to try again. I skipped 2 chapters and then finished the rest of the book in one sitting.
Personally, I liked the ending, but also hated the ending. Idk. There are a few stories that I will be remembering for a long time, whether I want to or not... looking at you "Spider"

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04.24.2025

Saturday after ballet op shop purchases. In an attempt to destress before my ballet exam yesterday.

An interesting concept, 36 American & Canadian authors from all genres collaborate on a novel that takes place over 14 days during the onset of COVID-19. The super & tenants in a rundown apartment building in lower east side New York gather on the rooftop each evening to clap & cheer the Covid responders, argue with one another & tell stories. Since I have read some of the authors involved it is fun trying to determine their contributions.

8-11-24: My 28th finished book of 2024! This one surprised me. This story takes during a 14 day period from March 31, 2020 to April 13, 2020 right at the beginning of the pandemic. Due to the quarantine, the residents of 2 Rivington street are stuck in their apartments until slowly they start to congregate on the roof of their building to tell stories. There are 36 authors to this collaborative novel which I loved. Very interesting.

8-7-24: Reading poolside in Kansas City. 📖💖

I actually want to pan this; its saving grace is the concept itself. This is the type of book where you can picture all the possible, more interesting ways it could take, and where you begin to feel ripped off. Like, “C‘mon, you authors are supposedly at the top of your game and you can‘t even see this…” Atwood actually has very little involvement. The frame narrative is written by Douglas Preston, which means more than half the writing is his ⬇️

A collaborative novel along the lines of The Decameron, though with less rigid framing. The residents of an apt building in NYC escape to the roof to get outside in the first weeks of the pandemic lockdown. The price of admission is a story. The fun part for me is trying to guess which author wrote which stories, which is (apparently) at the end of the book.
Really enjoying this so far.

I know many of us still struggle with the initial days of COVID, and while very few novels have successfully navigated this time, Fourteen Days is one that definitely does. By bringing together all of these powerful authors, Atwood and Preston put together a story that brings us back to not only that time of uncertainty, but to that time where the world was asked to slow down and take care of each other.

I'm giving this a soft pick. Very soft. I admit there are several stories in this collection that just didn't do it for me...of course they are novellas so you're not going to get the same satisfaction you'd get from a full fledged novel. This is about a tenement building during the lock down so yes it's about the pandemic so keep that in mind. Then sit back and enjoy.

This book has an interesting structure-a group of tenants meet on the rooftop of their apartment building at the start of the COVID lockdown to tell each other stories, with each character‘s voice secretly written by a famous author.

Unfortunately this didn‘t quite work for me; a lot of the stories weren‘t written in the way that people speak and there were more duds than diamonds.

I didn‘t see the ending though and that did elevate it a bit ⬇️

This sounds fun! The premise is intriguing, I just hope they pulled it off!

@BarbaraBB is having a giveaway to celebrate 6 glorious years on Litsy! Wooooo hooooo! An amazing litten and an amazing space!
#BBgiveaway
My most anticipated book for 2024 is Fourteen days: An unauthorised gathering by Margaret Atwood and other authors.
I tag @CarolynM and @MrsMalaprop to join in the fun! ♥️