Welcome to Litsy!

Just after I posted that I didn‘t have access to this #ToB26 shortlist title, I found it on Libby with another library through which I have a card. Anyway, I listened to this one and loved the beginning. I was so in through the first half of this director‘s life and connections but the second half didn‘t work for me. I‘m also wondering if it‘s due to the audio and my hectic life around the holidays. I may revisit this in the future.

#ToB26 #24

Vera‘s grandparents left Armenia after the massacre and started anew in Lebanon. Years later Vera and her parents leave for the US when the situation in Lebanon becomes too dangerous.
9/11 brings back memories of a family leaving so much behind, not just danger and war, but also family, friends and happy memories. A thought provoking book.

#ReadTheWorld2025 #Lebanon

📸 Chatel, France

Look at that! I made a sweet potato pie for Christmas 🎄 #CaresPieShow #Dec2025 Book114 🥧 #ToB26 Happy Christmas Eve Eve

#ToB26 #23

This is a very atmospheric and disturbing dystopian book about two sisters, living an isolated life in what mostly is a walled garden and what used to be the kitchen of the mansion they lived in before. A mansion that has been shut down for years because their mother wanted that. I was never quite sure of what happened, what was true and what not. The ending is vague too yet it was a very satisfying read for me.

📸 Chatel, France

#WeeklyForecast 51/25

I will hopefully read these three books during the holidays. Still a lot of #ToB26 to be read but also another installment in the Matilda Darke series, which I have been enjoying a lot.

#ToB26 #22

Yes it‘s a book about a ten year affair but it‘s also not. And it is certainly not as predictable as you might suspect. To me it is much more a book about growing up and becoming a mother and leave the city where you were young and all seemed possible. I really liked it.

📸 Lausanne, Switzerland

#TOB26

I liked this well enough but agree with Helen. I would have liked it to circle back to adult Vera for the conclusion. It was a quick, easy listen.

@squirrelbrain @Hooked_on_books @BarbaraBB @merelybookish @Bookwormjillk @Chelsea.Poole @sarahbarnes @ChaoticMissAdventures @ImperfectCJ @BkClubCare

I picked this one up last summer and so would have read it regardless, but I‘m so glad #TOB26 nudged me to do so now, because I loved this one. From the unusual structure to the brilliant tonal shift at the narrative‘s peak to the slightly trippy cover, this was very much a book for me.

This book was haunting and just short enough so that the confusion of not knowing exactly what was going on didn‘t make me want to quit. It touched on the generational trauma of the Jeju massacre, which is something the world doesn‘t know enough about. Grateful for books that share hidden history. #TOB26

@hooked_on_books @barbarabb @chelsea.Poole @squirrelbrain @sarahbarnes @chaoticmissadventures @bkclubcare @deblovestoread @merelybookish

⭐️⭐️ My first from the #ToB26 shortlist, and it‘s a no from me. It started off a little reminiscent of All Fours in that a middle aged lady is having a narcissistic midlife crisis and making questionable decisions that make me not like her at all. Then it sort of morphed into something less interesting and more self indulgent on the author‘s part. I was going to give it a so-so but realized I actually kind of hated it. 🤷‍♀️