This one never clicked for me. The main character reminded me of someone out of a Philip Roth novel.
#AAMIME

Is this supposed to be a dark comedy? I found it amusing and enjoyable.
#AAMIME

My Stay At Home project is learning about cryptocurrency. Fun audiobook so far.

I still love Murderbot, but this isn‘t the strongest book in the series. The setup takes too long and there‘s a lot of repetition before the story gets moving. Once the action kicks in, it‘s fun. The plot is thin and I didn‘t care about the characters. Hopefully this is just an arc to get to book #4.

A unique thriller told from the perspective of a fetus.
#AuthorAMonth

It took me all month to finish this. It was too frivolous to enjoy during a pandemic.
#AAMEW - book 5

Another upper class New York novel, with characters falling in love with someone who society deems unacceptable.
#AAMEW

A 29 year old orphaned woman is taken in by relatives, and suffers from pride and upperclass social mores...and a gambling addiction! As usual, Wharton‘s main character falls in love with the wrong man. After reading five of her books in a row, they start to blur together. Still, there‘s something comforting about them.
#AAMEW

A young orphaned woman, who was raised by relatives suffers because of pride and small town societal mores. Standard Wharton themes, but an enjoyable read.
#AuthorAMonth

How amazing is Tor? They publish so many good books and they give away so many good books. So over this work week and ready for Murderbot!

Short but powerful novel. Wharton‘s specialty seems to be the downfall of orphaned young women. There‘s an emphasis on cold and colors that made me hope I misinterpreted what they foreshadowed. Glad I reread this when I had a chance to appreciate it.
#AuthorAMonth

This book revolves around Sidney Gottlieb, but the real subject is the CIA‘s search for mind control techniques. They never succeeded and the experiments conducted are amazing and frequently inhumane. This was a book club read. Everyone liked it, though most of us were having a hard time focus a month into CA‘s Stay At Home ordinance. And we all agreed that the audiobook version is not good. Check out Wormwood on Netflix for a bit of the story.

For those having issues working from home...
#catsoflitsy

Today‘s #catmeme for @Soubhiville and @jb72
Kinda want to try this!

For @jb72 and @Soubhiville
#catmemes #catsoflitsy

Borrowed this from @penguinusa on Instagram. 🖤

Monk and Cecil are as unhappy with this book‘s narrator as I am. I used to do a lot of voiceover work It‘s a different skill than narration. This guy is an announcer and it feels like he‘s shouting the book at me. Help! I‘d buy a hard copy, but it won‘t reach me in time for my book club. #catsoflitsy

My first #AuthorAMonth for April is a short, atmospheric story about a man committing adultry with a ghost. Or maybe it‘s a vampire? Good intro to Wharton. 3.5/5

I could do this all day! @jb72
#fillaprilwithfunny

Can‘t wait to see what everyone posts!

Unproductive
Indecisiveness
Motivation. I‘m still working full time at an office, but I do very little with my nights.
@Meaw_catlady @sprainedbrain #moonreflections

The man just doesn‘t get it. Yet, like Mieko Kawakami, I still enjoy his books.

https://lithub.com/a-feminist-critique-of-murakami-novels-with-murakami-himself/

Foster kitty likes Lola, but not my other cat.
Starting on some Wharton for #AuthorAMonth.
#catsoflitsy

Another great free book from tor.com!

https://ebookclub.tor.com/?&utm_source=exacttarget&utm_medium=eblast&utm_term=to...

I was happy to see the return of several characters from A Wild Sheep Chase. A good and often creepy finish to the Rat series.
And even though we‘re at the end of this #AuthorAMonth, I‘ll be finishing the rest of these soon!

I love Murakami‘s short stories. It‘s hard to choose a favorite from this collection, but “Poor Aunt” is the one that sticks with me the most.
#AuthorAMonth

Working and reading. Hope to finish this one today.
#AuthorAMonth

I liked this trippy tale about power and sheep! Best of The Rat books.
#AuthorAMonth

The second book in The Rat series has a bit of a plot. The main character goes searching for a rare pinball machine. Otherwise, it‘s more of the same as Wind. Not bad, but another you can skip in the series.
#AuthorAMonth

There‘s no plot in Murakami‘s first book, but it does introduce themes that he returns to again and again in later works. It also seems semi-autobiographical, from what I know about Murakami. The men are lonely, divorced and utterly clueless about women. But they do have good taste in music. It‘s the first book in The Rat series, but you won‘t miss much if you skip it.
#AuthorAMonth

This is my new zen. https://youtu.be/_6wbfVWVk8Q live panda cam!
#keeplitsypositive

Today is the first day my foster cat, Felineous Monk has decided to spend time in the living room. Only took him a month. Cecil and I still can‘t touch him.
#catsoflitsy

Cecil likes to read upside down. Working my way through Murakami‘s books. Reviews to come.
#AuthorAMonth

Most of these stories almost work, but the women are so uninteresting. Maybe if I were pining away for a lost love, I would have liked it better.
#AuthorAMonth

Here‘s a cool freebie!

The 10% Happier app is offering a lot of free content to help deal with our current situation. check it out here: https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide
#KeepLitsyPositive

Maaaaaybe this story doesn‘t translate well, but I suspect it‘s just crap. There‘s some interesting stuff about a painting and metaphors. Then there are obsessive descriptions about the breasts of every female character. Murakami has never been good at writing women. Here they‘re especially (ahem) flat. Way too much detail on meals eaten and clothes worn. At 400 pages this could have been a great book, but at 700+, it‘s just a mess.
#AuthorAMonth

A belated THANKS to all the Littens who offered kind words when My cat Abby died a few weeks ago. It was rough and I really appreciate the thoughts.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this. I‘m incredibly unathletic, but I was watching the L.A. Marathon from my window as I listened and now have a better understanding of why anyone would want to do such a thing! There‘s also a lot about Murakami‘s writing, which is ultimately why this book worked for me. I‘m reading “The Rat” trilogy and am seeing bits of Murakami‘s life seeping into the settings and characters. 4/5🎽
#authoramonth

When you‘re reading about Pi on 3.14...
#authoramonth

I had to euthanize my cat Abby last week and I haven‘t been able to focus on anything. For 16 years, she curled up with me every time I opened a book. She was the best cat ever. 😿

The best way to describe this is Literary Noir. It‘s my favorite Colson Whitehead book so far. It‘s about being an outsider and elevators. Difficult to describe, but perfect if you‘re looking for a unique read.
#AuthorAMonth

Waiting to see a new therapist. The waiting room reading material does not inspire confidence.

We all know that this is a good book. But why the one magical element of the train when the rest of the story is so real?
#AuthorAMonth

I didn‘t go to a private school and my parents didn‘t have a summer home, but I still found Whitehead‘s semi autobiographical story relatable. We were both D&D playing, Fangoria-reading dorks with bad haircuts who yearned to be cool. There‘s no deep plot, just an amusing look at growing up in the 80‘s and a character trying to figure out who he is.
#AuthorAMonth

If you can get past the fact that no former emergency room doc would even be this clueless about a medical condition, this is a mediocre thriller with mediocre writing. I found the twists to be predictable.

Cecil was spooked by this book, Abby just wanted to know why these people didn‘t get a cheap camera to see what was up with the haunted typewriter. I‘m with Abby. I couldn‘t buy into the supernatural angle, but I‘d definitely give another book by Barclay a shot.
#NewYearWhoDis

Very pretty writing about a zombie plague that questions whether the infected or the uninfected in Manhattan are really all that different. Dull characters, not much of a plot, mildly amusing satire.
#AuthorAMonth

Per #BookSpin, this is what I‘ll be reading this month! So glad you did this, @TheAromaofBooks
I‘m so indecisive. And there‘s the sloth lamp, @4thhouseontheleft

Whitehead‘s book about the World Series of Poker is funny and snarky. I like that. And I know a few of the types who think they are poker champ material. He catches the scene accurately. He writes about himself as much as he writes about the game and that‘s what held my interest. But I listened to him narrate the book and his delivery is akin to a poetry slam performance...for six hours. Eh. Read only if you‘re a poker fan or fellow anhedionian.