Another bail.. I have a hard time concentrating on books (am very busy at work and a bit hyped about that #CampLitsy24 longlist) and this one just didn‘t make sense to me. Great writing, great scenes but they lacked connection I think and I had not really and idea what or whom I was reading about. Maybe I‘ll give it another try when I am a bit more relaxed.

#WomenPrize

#TuesdayTunes

“Oh, would you help me? I don't understand. Is it over? Am I losing solid ground?”

I love Michael Kiwanuka‘s voice and melancholy. So good!

https://open.spotify.com/track/3aLq93pLZHx25jcFhfbEee?si=ZiRp3tSaQAC74JBMiFVPGw

It might be the excitement around the nominations for #CampLitsy but I can't get invested in this book and am putting it aside for now. The language, the fact that nothing much happens in the first 100 pages.. I call it quits for now.

#ATY24 - Sound related word in title

#WeeklyForecast 17/24

I am reading The Wild Laughter, not sure what to think yet. Next will be the tagged book and last but not least, the Iris Murdoch is my #Roll100 book.

Here are my nominations for #CampLitsy24

If you don‘t know what I am talking about but are intrigued, read my earlier post.
If you do know and are as excited as I am about this, post your own 4 nominations, use hashtag #CampLitsy24 and tag me and my co-hosts @Megabooks and @squirrelbrain
Hope to see you at camp 🏕️ 🧡

We are pleased to announce a new edition of Camp Litsy 🏕️ 📚

We're opening nominations for the longlist now. We invite you all to suggest 4 books to read this summer. Post your choices on Litsy with #CampLitsy24 and tag @Megabooks, @squirrelbrain and me. The nominated books need to be published in 2024 and by 15 June so campers can procure the final choices.

Nominations are open until 21 April. Then we‘ll publish the longlist for voting ⬇️⬇️

Cetus inherited a significant fortune from a total stranger but she is legally unable to share it with anyone else. This is a reality with which she has to deal while enjoying her inheritance. It‘s a compelling setup and the book raises so many questions about greed and wealth and happiness. Quite an original plot! Thank you for bringing it to my attention @TrishB !

#ATY24 - Going for the gold

#BookReport 16/24

Two #WomenPrize reads this week and the tagged one. I was disappointed by Nightbloom because my expectations were high but both others I enjoyed.

How am I the first to post about this book while it‘s on the #WomenPrize longlist??
Anyhow, it deserves to be there. It‘s a powerful read. Cilla leaves her homeland Grenada to make money in the UK. She leaves her son Raef behind and it takes 7 years before she can afford his ticket and for him to reunite with his family. Things don‘t go well however and Cilla blames herself. Told by mother and son alternately the book packs a punch.

Two Ghanaian cousins have shared years together growing up but experienced them completely different. Akorfa is the rich and smart one who leaves Ghana for an education in the US. Her story felt too long and lightweight to me.
Selasi stays in Ghana and owns a restaurant. Her story is different. Lots of tough topics come by but her story felt hurried and lacked depth.

So no favorite of mine for the #WomenPrize.

An Australian “matron” works at a posh English boarding school for girls and becomes obsessed with Mrs S, the headmaster‘s wife. The book is slowly building up towards a summer of queer love and seduction, the love between the narrator and Mrs S a forbidden one. And one that could not last. I was curious how the book would end and was glad with the way it did!

#TuesdayTunes

I managed to not mention them until now but let‘s face it, among all other tunes and artists I mentioned here, I am always listening to the Chili Peppers too. This one is about Eddie Van Halen. It‘s from RHCP‘s latest album and the lyrics, Anthony Kiedis‘s voice and especially John Frusciante‘s guitar solo are 👌🏽💯

My favorite song by them these days: https://open.spotify.com/album/6DUWfrmH8uTH33wMFOBJDu?si=8nFdJyTQRTOTVwD5HuDitw

#WeeklyForecast 16/24

I am reading Mrs S and have another two #womenprize books waiting for me. Also I‘d like to start Christ on an Bike which is a 💯 #blameitonlitsy choice.

#BookReport 15/24

I read two #womenprize books this week. The Maiden was enjoyable, the tagged book really good yet both can‘t compete to In Defence of the Act to me - my favorite so far. I then binge-read the Marrs chunkster, an engaging thriller, not his best though.

Although it is definitely not his best (it‘s one of his earliest thrillers, re-edited and renamed a few years afters its publication) I still enjoyed John Marrs‘s book about travelers from all over the world meeting each other in a rundown LA hostel. All carry secrets from their past and the book is full of plot lines and twists. I couldn‘t stop reading!

An interesting story, based on a true one, which for me always adds a bit to a book. Christian was too wild for the times she lived in and that caused her downfall.
I feel like the book could have used some editing ( the story took endless to pick up speed) and though I liked it, I wonder why it is on the #WomenPrize longlist.

#52BookClub24 - More than 40 chapters

What a beatiful book. I loved the narrator‘s journey between the different points of view on the war between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government and the people caught in between. She shows there is so much grey between black and white and I learned a lot. Besides that VV Ganeshananthan creates wonderful human characters, who she no doubt met and knew in real life. A great read. #Womenprize

#TuesdayTunes

“I should be cryin' but I just can't let it show
I should be hopin' but I can't stop thinkin
All the things we should've said that we never said,
All the things we should‘ve done that we never did”

My favorite Kate Bush song on repeat today!

https://spotify.link/o4hxZsTztIb

#WeeklyForecast 15/24

I am reading an enjoying both Brotherless Night and The Maiden from the #womenprize longlist. I highly doubt I‘ll finish both this week. I‘ve had an extra long Easter weekend at the coast but will have to make up for it during the rest of the week!
Maybe just maybe there‘ll be time to start another John Marrs 😇

#MarchWrapUp #MarchStats

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
In Defence of the Act
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
A History of Loneliness
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Caretaker
Ordinary Human Failings
Sailor Soldier
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
When You Disappeared
Enter Ghost
What I‘d Rather not Think About
What Have We Done
Bijna niets gebeurt toevallig
⭐️⭐️⭐️
The List
See You in Paradise
⭐️⭐️✨
Vengeance is Mine
⭐️⭐️
O Caledonia
Hangman

DNF
In Ascension

I‘ve listened to this book while driving or when I couldn‘t sleep and enjoyed the short stories of two women who work as editors for daily talkshows. There‘s a lot to do at the moment about the atmosphere behind the scenes of those productions, think #metoo, sexism, long hours, unfair employment contracts etc. The authors write about their experiences with wit and humor. Without getting sarcastic they nail the subject.

This book brings the past alive for three people who as kids lived together for a while in a foster house. They‘ve shared a secret ever since but now someone seems to knows about it and brings them back together.

Another fast-paced thriller by Finlay, in fact so fast that I got confused at times and found it difficult to follow along. The ending is great, but I didn‘t love it as much his other two books.
Thanks Trish for a wonderful b-day gift!

We have our #LitsyToB24 winner! All the Sinners Bleed takes ways the turkey 🥇 🏆
Thank you all for participating in our very own tournament of books, thanks to you we‘ve read a bunch of very good books!!

Meg, Helen and I hope to see you all again at #CampLitsy2024 in a few months time!

#BookReport 14/24

I read these three books. Soldier Sailor and What IMd Rather Not Think About are both very good. See You in Paradise is an okay story collecting. Enjoyable but not outstanding imo.

Okay, there we go! Which book are you rooting for in the #LitsyToB24 finals and should take away the Turkey 🦃? Bring it on below! We can‘t wait to see your votes!!

It‘s our second zombie match and again the zombie is the winner! A close call again and test Idlewild beats Wellness. Who would have guessed? I know I didn‘t!
Idlewild is the book that has received the most zombie votes. Will it be enough to take away the 🦃 against Sinners?
Tomorrow we‘ll post the final match of our #LitsyToB24 and then you can all vote for your winner! One more day to go!

This is my first book from the #InternationalBooker longlist. It is a Dutch one so an easy one for me to purchase and read. It‘s a book about a brother and sister, identical twins. He commits suicide in his thirties. This is no spoiler, the book is about how, despite their closeness, she can‘t protect him from his depression, he can‘t protect her from missing him. It is a sad book, written lightly, which adds to the impact.

#ATY24 Title 6+ words

Today we had our 1st Zombie match: Hello Beautiful vs All the Sinners Bleed. HB easily won each match so far and seemed a serious candidate for the 🦃 .
Never underestimate a Zombie though; with 53% of the votes we‘ll see Sinners, that left the tournament in the opening round against Rachel, back in the finals! @Suet624 @jas16 @Bookpearl @decalino @well-readNeck and @bookwormjillk will be happy, Sinners is their favorite book of #LitsyToB24!

#TuesdayTunes

It‘s been two years since Taylor Hawkins died. Time flies. I‘ve been listening to this incredible emotional song Foo Fighters dedicated to him:

“You showed me how to be, never showed me how to say goodbye” 💔

https://spotify.link/0O2xup7K9Hb

This is an okay short story collection. Some speculative stories, some horror, some surprising. My favorite one is “Total humiliation in 1987” but overall the stories won‘t make a lasting impression. Between so-so and a pick.

#ATY24 - connected to something I read in 2023

The narrator doesn‘t recognize herself in the woman‘s she used to be before she became a fulltime mother. It drives her mad but she‘s also madly in love with her little son Sailor. Her husband is worthless, doing nothing to share the responsibilities for their baby, he is just working and living his life. And loving her. But is it enough?

A very recognizable read about the struggles and blessings of motherhood. #womenprize

#WeeklyForecast 14/24

I am about to finish Soldier Sailor and have lined up three more books for this week because I‘ll have a long Easter weekend off work. I am looking forward to all three of these. Alex Finlay never disappoints, a J Robert Lennon is always a treat and the Dutch one (tagged) is from the #InternationalBooker longlist. If I‘ll finish them all I have more #womenprize books to choose from 😀

I remember this feeling so well! #motherhood

#BookReport 13/24

The tagged book was this week‘s favorite and another #womenprize winner. So far I am loving the longlist with the exception of Hangman, that I couldn‘t connect with. The List is a thought provoking book about social media and #metoo. Another satisfying reading week!

On Twitter appears a list of men accused of abusing women. Michael is on it. He and Ola are about to get married but she wants proof of his innocence first. Reading about both sides of possible abuse and the rollercoaster of #metoo on the internet has been executed very good. I was surprised though by the reaction of some of the characters. The total lack of communication between Ola and Michael for example, why didn‘t they stay in contact? ⬇️

Palestinian actress Sonia has been living in London for years but returns to Palestine to escape from some personal issues and to stay with her sister who lives in Haifa. She joins a local production of Hamlet and participates in daily life with the exhausting day-to-day struggles for Palestines in Israel.
The ending is one that will stick with me

A dense, beautiful and timely read, another winner from the #womenprize longlist.

#TuesdayTunes

Last week I posted about Bowie and @TrishB and @Bookwomble started a conversation about music and Trish mentioned this song and I‘ve been listening to it all week. It‘s gorgeous!

https://spotify.link/9E30zG5l6Hb

What have I just read and why? I was willing too dive into the estranging world of Hangman, where an African man after two decennia of exile returns to his homeland. It didn‘t make much sense to me though, the stories told by the people he met upon his return.

My least favorite of the #womenprize longlist so far.

(Photo: hiking with my girlfriends)

#weeklyforecast 13/24

I started Hangman which is quite estranging. I am also in the midst of Enter Ghost. Some parts I love, some parts I don‘t. I also hope to read the tagged book this week but I won‘t have much reading time. Work is busy (which is good!) and this weekend I‘ve been hiking with my girlfriends (which is also good 😊).

#BookReport 12/24

It seems like I selected my books for their color, well, I didn‘t 😉. I LOVED the tagged one. It won‘t be for everyone (tw suicide ⚠️ ) but I think it will be one of this year‘s favorites for me. I also loved Ordinary Human Failures. Vengeance is Mine was just so-so.

So far I am very pleased about the #womenPrize longlist with already two winners for me out of the three I read 😀

Basically everyone and everything is falling apart in this slim novel. I couldn‘t really make sense of it. Maitre Susane represents a man who she thinks she knows from her childhood. The man‘s wife killed their three children. Maitre Susanes mother doesn‘t remember the man her daughter keeps talking about. And then there‘s an ex, a cleaning lady and some more people who I don‘t know what to think of.

#ATY24 - pronoun in title

#TuesdayTunes

“Let me fly away with you
For my love is like the wind
And wild is the wind. Wild is the wind”

I recently read Mix Tape by Jane Anderson and the book comes with a playlist. There I discovered this Bowie song, that I hadn‘t heard before. It‘s so so good. I can‘t stop listening to it.

https://spotify.link/apTw45V3OHb

The evolutionary benefit of something as dark as suicide. That‘s what this book is about and where Jess is convinced of.
In the book we get to know Jess and learn why she thinks this way. It‘s a short book but it packs a punch. I am left shattered and in awe. My favorite of the #womenprize longlist so far. I‘ve only read three but I am sure this will remain a favorite!

(Photo: Robbie Williams exhibition)

The #internationalbooker longlist has been announced today. I only read two so far, Kairos and The Details.
I feel a bit overwhelmed (not to say stressed) about all the books I want to read, with #LitsyToB24 and the #womenprize calling for my attention too!

Oh and my fulltime job 😂

Any recommendations of this longlist are very welcome!

A little English girl dies and the neighborhood quickly assumes the Irish immigrant family‘s daughter Lucy must have had a hand in it. An ambitious journalist wants to get to the bottom of it and talks to Lucy‘s family. The story is not so much about the death, but about a deeply damaged family with mother Carmel at their tragic heart.
It‘s a beautiful sad read.

#womensprize

#WeeklyForecast 12/24

I‘ve capitulated… I can‘t resist the temptation of the #womenprize longlist 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️
I am reading and enjoying Ordinary Human Failings and will tackle In Defence of the Act next. In between I also want to read the tagged book this week

#BookReport 11/24

I loved both A History of Loneliness and The Caretaker. They are a bit comparable, both have loving lonely narrators and the style is 👌🏽

I enjoyed When You Disappeared (I am making my way through John Marss‘s backlist) but bailed on In Ascension which couldn‘t hold my attention.

I tried, I really did. But I got lost and lost again in my own thoughts because my mind went wandering during those endless conversations about marine biology. I had no idea what they were talking about and if there was a plot behind it all.
It‘s a pity, I had high hopes because of the reviews below but after 50% I allow myself to bail 🤷🏻‍♀️

It‘s a romance, but a dark and twisty one. Jacob and Naomi are in love and married, much opposed by his parents who have had other plans for him, Then Jacob is being deployed to Korea, to fight in the war. He asks his best friend Blackburn to take care of Naomi and protect her from her nasty parents-in-law and the much biased community. I loved how Ron Rash creates his characters, all of them feel so real, as do the Appalachian surroundings.

That kind, honest Odran Yates, becoming a priest to be good and to do good. Years later his world is shattered by the massive revelations of the abuse of young boys by men serving god and the catholic church. He has to find his way in this new reality and my heart aches for him, his loneliness and his pure heart. John Boyne wrote another masterpiece.

#Roll100 #ATY24 - Historical fiction