Litsy

What I'd Rather Not Think About | Jente Posthuma

pick

A brief, heartbreaking, hopeful book about a twin left behind in grief when her brother dies by suicide. The first of my Man Booker International shortlist reads. #manbooker

39 likes1 stack add

JamieArc

Second Place: A Novel | Rachel Cusk

so-so

I had intended to take a year off from being sucked in by the #manbooker nominees, yet here we are. I was drawn in to the premise of this short book, and true to form, with its stream-of-conscious thought by M, who grew quite insufferable to me, I thought this was going to be a slog to get through. Surprisingly, I couldn‘t put it down. There is a plot that left me needing to know what was going to happen. (Cont.)

JamieArc Probably a lot of interesting things to ponder, but nothing I wanted to really engage with. Man Booker Longlist 1 done, now on to the next! 3y

JamieArc @Cathythoughts Here is my review. When I read your review, I felt similar to you. 3y

squirrelbrain I feel similar too - I‘ll post my review tomorrow. 3y

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squirrelbrain And, funnily enough, I was also *not* going to read the nominees this year…that didn‘t work out! 3y

JamieArc @squirrelbrain I will look forward to seeing it. Why can‘t we resist??? For me, there have been a few that I really loved, so I can‘t resist in case there are one or two this year that I will really love too. 3y

Cathythoughts I agree I wasn‘t going to bother being under pressure to read Booker books 🙄😂… and her we are ! Yes , we have similar feelings.. the plot kept me going to .. and it was short 👍🏻 and I‘m glad I read it 🤷🏼‍♀️ 3y

Cathythoughts @JamieArc @squirrelbrain That‘s why I can‘t resist either , Jamie, just in case I miss a really good one. Plus it‘s fun that a lot of us are reading them and can share thoughts 👍🏻❤️ 3y

48 likes7 comments

thebluestocking

Girl, Woman, Other | Bernardine Evaristo

Well, the Man Booker Prize was just announced! Breaking the official rules, the judges awarded it to two books, The Testaments and Girl, Woman, Other.

Both of these are on my TBR list!
#manbookerprize #manbooker #bookerprize

Reviewsbylola Both fantastic covers! I have Testaments but haven‘t read it yet. 5y

thebluestocking @Reviewsbylola I agree about the covers! 💙 5y

BarbaraBB I wish Evaristo would have been the only winner. The whole buzz created around the Atwood I don‘t think is Booker worthy! 5y

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Cinfhen Totally agree @BarbaraBB I‘m a little pissed that Atwood won. Evaristo earned the win!!!!!!! 5y

BarbaraBB @Cinfhen I saw your 5 stars. I immediately preordered the paperback! 5y

thebluestocking @BarbaraBB @Cinfhen I agree. I think the rules prohibiting a tie are there for a reason, and this circumstance did not seem to necessitate the breaking of them. I am going to have a hard time waiting until GWO comes out in the US! 💙 5y

Cinfhen I didn‘t realize it‘s not available yet in the states @thebluestocking !!! It‘s SO GOOD @BarbaraBB (edited) 5y

thebluestocking @Cinfhen It won‘t come out here until December. 5y

69 likes8 comments

Susannah

Ducks, Newburyport | Lucy Ellmann

Zing! I‘m intimidated but intrigued by Ducks, Newburyport, and finding this on the Instagram feed from Text Publishing in Melbourne, Australia, I now think I might owe it to Lucy Ellmann to read her book.

https://www.instagram.com/text_publishing

#manbooker

Librarybelle I might have to read this one now, too! What a great response! 5y

jillrhudy 🎤 ⬇️ 5y

Susannah @Librarybelle and @jillrhudy I know! I would have loved to be in the room when she gave that answer. (edited) 5y

38 likes3 comments

JamieArc

The Wall | John Lanchester

pick

I don‘t usually love man booker nominees, and expected this to be slow and dry, but found it quite the opposite. Dropped in a world ravaged by climate change, I was completely engrossed in the story and all the questions I had - who are The Others? Where is the setting? What happened? - drove me to read ahead. Even though many questions went unanswered, I found this a very satisfying and enjoyable read. #manbooker

58 likes3 stack adds

rmaclean4

Lost Children Archive | Valeria Luiselli

pick

Amazing...I see why it has gotten so much attention. So layered yet I really connected with all the characters. I listened to this on Scrbid and read the physical book. Great to hear the sound recording that are described in the book and get to see the pictures referenced. This is a text I would love to study. 4.5 🌟

Samplergal I just was looking at this and left it in my cart. Going back and buying it. Thanks. #manbooker 5y

24 likes1 stack add1 comment

emilyhaldi

My Sister, the Serial Killer: A Novel | Oyinkan Braithwaite

pick

Korede sure has a lot of patience ...bc having 3 sisters myself, I sure as hell wouldn‘t stand for the bat-shit-crazy behavior of her serial killer sister 😆 (please note: @Meredith3 @AnnieD @Reviewsbylola ). I loved the gradual reveal of the sisters‘ dark childhood, which ultimately reinforced their special bond... and fostered some unhealthy behaviors 🔪 Entertaining? Yes. #manbooker worthy? Hmm, I suppose there‘s a reason I‘m not a judge 😜

HardcoverHearts I agree that‘s it was fun but I can‘t see it as a Booker Award finalist! 5y

JennyM Totally with you, Emily. Good read, but list-worthy, I‘m not so sure 5y

Cathythoughts I bailed on this one. I think I‘m missing something... @JennyM I don‘t understand how it‘s on the list ... I‘m not sure either 5y

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Kalalalatja Couldn‘t agree more! 5y

Megabooks So I want to know, which one of you is most likely to be a serial killer?? Who do I need to worry about? I know Steph reads a lot of true crime... @Reviewsbylola @AnnieD @Meredith3 just kidding 🤣🤣 5y

Megabooks And I‘m totally with you. I enjoyed it, but I don‘t think it will make it to the finals, much less win! 5y

BarbaraBB It won the Tournament of Books, which I completely understand. But I don‘t think it will take away the Booker. 5y

Mdargusch I‘ve been wanting to read this! 5y

Reviewsbylola Which one of us would be the most obvious choice for a serial killer? 🤔 5y

Reviewsbylola Hahaha great minds! @megabook. You‘ve gotta watch out for @meredith3 too. She did an art show with portraits she pained of Charles Manson. 🤣🤣 5y

MrBook Great review! 😁 5y

114 likes1 stack add11 comments

emilyhaldi

The Wall | John Lanchester

pan

This book is as dull and monotonous as the endless concrete wall at its center. The dystopian plot is not well thought out nor clever- climate change has caused water levels to rise, walls are built surrounding Britain to exclude “The Others” from being able to enter, while the world seems to somehow continue otherwise unaffected- no food shortages, a persevering economy, etc. What the plot lacks is not offset by the writing... (cont. 👇🏻)

emilyhaldi Lanchester overexplains every thought or action of the narrator to the point that it could pass for a YA novel. I‘m confounded as to why this book has been chosen for the #manbooker long list. 5y

Megabooks Blech! 5y

Cathythoughts Interesting!!! Some of these Booker books ... I don‘t get it 5y

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TrishB And I had been tempted by this one. I‘ve found I like them less and less each year. (edited) 5y

Kalalalatja Well, I‘m in no hurry to get to this, then 😅 5y

Redwritinghood Agree. This is definitely not the strongest of the Booker contenders this year. One thing that bothered me was how he said they produced all their own food, but they kept drinking tea and coffee. I was so distracted thinking “there‘s no way they could grow tea and coffee in England” every time a character drank tea or coffee. It was annoying. (edited) 5y

batsy I love an entertaining pan like this one 😆 Nice review ! 5y

erzascarletbookgasm I wasn‘t drawn to this one when I read the synopsis..🤷‍♀️ Nice review 👍 5y

emilyhaldi Right! @Redwritinghood So many details that didn‘t correspond with the narrative. 5y

emilyhaldi Glad to be of service 😆 @batsy 5y

Reviewsbylola You‘re not a dystopian fan tho so why did you read this? 😆 5y

BarbaraBB I did like this one but I recognize all you say about it. I think I liked the premise and was maybe not very critical. 5y

emilyhaldi @BarbaraBB and I, on the other hand, tend to hate dystopian plots, so I was hyper-critical 😆 since this made the long list I thought I would give it a try but I need to stop trying to make dystopian fiction happen!!! 🙅🏻‍♀️ 5y

BarbaraBB Haha. I do like dystopian sometimes. Do you hate them all? 5y

emilyhaldi @BarbaraBB my hate for them grows with every additional one I read 😆 feels like the same trope to me each time. 5y

Mdargusch Yuck. I never would‘ve picked this up. #justsaynotodystopian 5y

84 likes16 comments

emilyhaldi

An Orchestra of Minorities | Chigozie Obioma

I went on a bit of a #manbooker binge at the library. Which to read first??

Clare_Riley I‘m listening to The Wall at the moment and really enjoying it. I‘ve read My Sister and I liked it very much, but I am puzzled as to why it‘s making it on to so many of these book award long lists - I do think that there are other books out there that could be do with the exposure as well. Obioma‘s book is on my tbr list, it looks really interesting! 5y

Cathythoughts Exciting! Look forward to your thoughts- I only tried Serial Killer & bailed #unpopularopinion for sure 5y

emilyhaldi @Clare_Riley I ended up starting the Wall yesterday. While it‘s pretty entertaining and a quick read, I do NOT understand why it‘s on the long list... the writing isn‘t impressing me 🤷🏻‍♀️ 5y

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emilyhaldi @Cathythoughts I‘ve had some reservations about that one which is why I put it off for so long. But seeing it on the long list motivated me to give it a try... we‘ll see! 🤞🏻 5y

Cathythoughts Just started Orchestra... better than I thought , more readable... early days, we‘ll see. I look forward to your thoughts whenever you get there 👍🏻 5y

emilyhaldi That's good to hear!! @Cathythoughts I think I'm putting that one off til last bc of its size 😅 but hoping I can get to it soon... 🤞🏻 5y

Reviewsbylola Serial Killer is good and quick! 5y

BarbaraBB Echoing @Reviewsbylola , Sister is really good! 5y

89 likes8 comments

BarbaraBB

The Booker Prize and the Legacy of Empire | Luke Strongman

There we go again. No longer the #manbooker but still the #bookerprize. This year‘s longlist looks really exciting I think!

LauraJ Oh no! More books to read 📚 5y

Ruthiella I love book prize long lists! I‘ve only read two (both thanks to the TOB)🎈 5y

Kalalalatja I haven‘t read any of these! But I own the Obioma book, so hopefully I‘ll get to that soonish 🤞 5y

See All 11 Comments

Simona O yes, looks quite challenging! 5y

jhod I think its a great list, though I'm scared about the doorstop! 5y

Cathythoughts Yes! I‘m looking at that door step too ..... 1000 pages 5y

AnneCecilie I haven‘t read any of these. So I‘ll start with the one I already own, Lanny. Then I‘ll see if my library has any of these. 5y

jhod @Cathythoughts just read the goodreads reviews and they make me want to read it! 5y

Cinfhen Need to investigate 🤓 5y

Severnmeadows I thought Girl, Woman, Other was a brilliant book, I really enjoyed it.

Girl, Woman, Other

BarbaraBB @Severnmeadows Thank you! It‘s one of the most appealing to me! 5y

69 likes11 comments

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