Welcome to Litsy!

From the authors note: “We must all be more Iona.” I couldn‘t agree more, and if you‘ve read this book, you‘ll understand. Very much in the vein of the wonderful poem, “When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple, with a red hat, which doesn‘t go, and doesn‘t suit me.” 🫟💜

When a man chokes on a grape during his daily commute other passengers spring into action to save him starting a chain of actions that take them far away from being just strangers. This was a perfect palate cleanser- light, charming, and heartwarming

#december reading plan. Finished the tagged book today for my Brunch+Book club. It was cute - about halfway through, I was starting to get frustrated that it was kinda cliche and predictable. But in the second half, the plot picked up and I found myself enjoying it more. It was indeed predictable, but Pooley is laugh-out-loud funny and sometimes you just need to let go and embrace the cheese.

Tonight‘s read: The Haunting Season 👻🎄❄️

A fun book and a quick read. It gave me an identity crisis because it‘s the first book where I identified with a character clearly coded as “an eccentric old woman,” which I guess I am now.

Soaking up sunshine and squeezing in a bit of reading during lunch.

#ReadingBracket2024
January's pick: Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting

This was such a great book! An interesting cast of characters (Sanjay, Martha, Piers, Emmie, David, and Jake) whose lives all intersect on the train, with Iona at the center. Iona was an icon back in her day, and now she writes an advice column in a magazine. Even though there are several characters, it's not hard to remember them and their stories, because they're all distinctive and memorable.

Continued... ⬇️

When a man chokes on a grape, Iona breaks one of her cardinal rules for commuting. What can you do? With this first breach, Iona proceeds to break every rule in order to help her train mates and herself. A little predictable, but the journey is a joy. A 4+ of 5 ⭐️ pick for this gem of a story.

Friday morning #coffeeandabook.

This is fun! “The grape of wrath” kicks off a wonderful story of friendship and acceptance.

My favorites in no particular order (possibly, most recent top left, actually 🤣) SO happy that I got a few classics in this year. And a few Nonfiction. My stats were eerily similar to last year in media, ratings, pages read, etc. And fascinating that my efforts to read women writers barely gets them a majority tally at the end of the year 🧐

Tagged = Fave of Favorites 🌟

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Summary post for blog up soon.

Yes, it‘s frothy and totally predictable. But also a lot of fun. I loved Iona‘s fierce and unapologetic personality, and I adored the community she created with her fellow commuters. I‘ve been riding the train to work for 10 years, and so much of this is relatable—especially the nicknames that riders give to each other. 😄

I‘m on Holiday, seeing friends while husband has a work trip. Finished this wonderful book this morning AND LOVED IT! 💕 I originally bought it because I love yellow and pink together + I have an Alphabetical correspondence theme with a friend and this hits a lot of “I”s - thought it would be fun to send it to her. I hope she loves it as much as I do. It is smart, it is funny, it is touching and heartwarming; I adore a book that makes me 🤣 & 😭

“ no one wants to find a finger in their shepherds pie” LOL 😂

This book is WONDERFUL! #iLovePie 🥧 #PieinLit

Yes, yes - I bought this for the yellow and pink! 💛🩷💝 and all the “I”s for an alphabet exchange I‘ve got going with a PenPal… I‘ll read and then send it to her.

This is a delightful British feel good story centring around Iona‘s larger than life personality. She connects with an assortment of characters that meet her and subsequently each other exactly when they need to while commuting in and out of London‘s Waterloo station.

This is absolutely delightful so far

I loved this! A cast of imperfect characters who meet on their train commute and form friendships. Much of it is fun and light-hearted, but each character is dealing with problems in their personal lives that are sad or troubling. Overall, heartwarming. Iona is a fabulous character.

What a fun book. Strangers on a Train if Maeve Binchy wrote it.

Definitely a "don't judge a book by its cover" pick for me! Based on the title and cover alone, I never would have picked this up...but I'm so glad I did. It was a delightful read, and a needed lift from my recent run of disappointing books.

This was a great read. Such lovely characters and Iona is wonderful. I loved it - perfect for curling up by the fire and getting lost in the story.

I'm a little sad that I finished this. It's adorable. And I 💘 Iona. This was my IRL book club pick for December. No idea where my friend found it, but so freaking glad she did.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

I finished “Iona Iverson‘s Rules for Commuting” and it was a delight 🤩 Iona may be a new favorite fictional character.

Also, this was my first time using this style of audiobook, and it was great! It was such a breeze to use (especially while driving on the highway lol). Would recommend both the book and audio device 👍👍

Visiting my family in Iowa this weekend, and fall has arrived! Overcast and 50‘s today (aaaaaand 70‘s and sun tomorrow and Sunday, gotta love the Midwest 🙄😆). I‘m doing an audio listen and reading a physical copy of this book and I‘m halfway through and it‘s delightful 🥰

Oh, this was such a charming, heart-warming little read. It gave me the same vibes as Phaedra Patrick or Abbi Waxman, which are some of my favourite reading vibes. Every character was just so loveable (even Piers!) and I loved how everything came together, it was such a sweet, lovely book. I still don't miss commuting, though.

So I had high expectations for this book based on reviews. It was ok, not amazing, but a cute story about strangers on the train in London and their interconnectedness.

I truly enjoyed this little read. What happens when during a normal commute one person chokes on a grape? This story. That‘s what. Populated by endearing characters and fun storylines I fully enjoyed every minute of this one. #blqsummerreadingchallenge #yellowcover

After enjoying this author's first novel I had to give this one a read and I was not disappointed. This is a delightful story filled with a varied cast of characters whose unlikely friendships change each others lives. It reminded me of Fredrik Backman's humorous novels, where a thoroughly entertaining story also manages to pass on life lessons...without feeling preachy. I look forward to more from this author. I gave it a 4.5/5.