Just couldn‘t get into this book about an Asian woman during the pandemic, listening constantly to disparaging remarks, cleaning apartments of murdered women, seeing ghosts and footprints and bite marks. I gave it a hundred pages, but it felt like more of the same.

We first meet Margaret as a child, followed by meeting her again as a divorced mother of two little girls. This book accomplishes so much, bringing her childhood trauma into the light as a mother, grownup, sibling, daughter. Her life is determined by this event, she can never seem to get a grip on it, she constantly reacts to events coming from that place in her life as a child. Not to mention her mother…yikes!

We do not care that the New York Times has added yet another fun puzzle to their daily games page. It‘s called Pips and it‘s a good logic problem. We do not care that doing those puzzles every day takes a good hour, it‘s so fun.

@dabbe #WDNCW

I never read this kind of book, but it was only a couple hundred pages so I persevered. Henry, who is married to pregnant Lily, creates William in the attic, his very own AI robot. It doesn‘t take long for William to take over, etc etc. Bodies pile up and then a big twist, and then finito. A short horror story if you‘re looking for one.

Sophie and Alex are sent by their London newspaper to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, a three week show of non-stop performances, the biggest fringe festival of its kind anywhere. Alex picks up a girl who he meets in a bar and brings her back to their flat for the night, not long after he‘s seen her show and given it one star. When she finds out she changes her show to be about bad Alex and it takes off. A weakish ending, soft pick.

A strange little book about a woman who is left stranded with a dog when a glass wall comes down out of nowhere and kills everything on the other side. Apparently. She writes down the first two years of her life there and that‘s all we know. And she has to take full responsibility for every aspect of her life as she‘s out in the hills somewhere. There‘s no conversation because there‘s nobody to talk to. Imagine living like that?

I loved this book that came so highly recommended. Written by a Croatian author, and taking place in a small town in Croatia, we follow Ivona through her relationship with the love of her life, Vlaho. Beautifully written about characters who come alive on page after page through their personal journeys and their connections to each other. ⬇️

We do not care that our credit card was stolen this week as we cancelled our card and caught the thieves before any merchandise was shipped. We do not care that our fridge started making an EXTREMELY LOUD HUM and we got a new one at Costco and had it promptly installed so we didn‘t lose any food. And we do not care about any other of life‘s annoyances as we‘re off to Seattle to visit our son.

#WDNCW @dabbe

Well, this book went some unexpected places. Three women, interconnected, all trying to find their true selves. It shouldn‘t have worked, but the humor and realistic situations turned this into a really good read. Lots of thoughts about motherhood, parents, husbands, careers, the whole of life, messy as it is.

A good story! A New Zealand family goes off on a holiday vacation where there there are lots of mysteries: a missing child, a weird neighbor, possibly one of the parents is having an affair. Narrated by the ten year old daughter, the story unfolds slowly with just the right amount of tension and childhood angst.

Here‘s the follow up to Assassins Anonymous of about a year ago. Same cast of characters who are trying to find and rescue a member of their group. We go back and forth between what they‘re doing and what the captured person is doing to save herself. More light reading, fun characters, but a soft pick.

Such a good book. I didn‘t think I‘d enjoy a story told entirely through letters, but this one really worked. The narrator, her family, her friends, her boyfriends, all came to life in beautiful ways. And their stories, all told so very believably. Very special, highly recommend.

I wasn‘t sure about this best seller, a love story about two astronauts during the early 80s when women were new to the space program. We go back and forth between a flight that runs into big, big trouble and the history behind the two women connected by their love of outer space. This book got better and better and it was all I could do not to skip ahead to see what happens at the end. Tears in my eyes on the last two pages.

A powerful 87 page novella. When Anna‘s friend asks if her teenage daughter can stay with her for a year, Anna agrees having no idea of the impact this will have on her husband, two children and the girl herself. This decision will turn their lives upside down, and not in a good way. Poor Anna, and poor everyone else as well.

Breakfast: chai tea and fresh fruit salad
Lunch: grilled cheese
Dinner: Ben & Jerry Phish Food ice cream

#serenesaturdays

We do not care that two old friends each cancelled lunch dates this week. Or that the electric bill was humongous. Or that we drove 45 minutes for lunch to a restaurant that was closed on Mondays. Or that we stopped on the way there at our favorite bakery and it was also closed on Mondays. Or that our hair dresser cut our hair too short. Or that our husband left the sprinkler on ALL NIGHT. We could go on and on, as can you, right?

#WDNCW

I had no idea this book had different endings until I started to read Litsy reviews! I have version A which I felt like had a very natural ending. A geologist, poet wife and snappy comeback daughter are all living a happy ordinary life. Until the daughter is diagnosed with a disease of deterioration. It‘s pretty depressing. Concurrently, the dad follows up on a lead to free some kidnapped women. Well written but not for everyone.

A good story with multiple points of view about a hiker who goes missing while walking the Appalachian Trail in Maine. In addition to the hiker we hear from the warden on the ground who‘s trying to find her and an elderly lady in a nursing facility who‘s following the national coverage. Well drawn characters and a mystery about what really happened there added to my race to finish this one. I wish it had made me feel more than it did.

A very moving story of three people in a family, a mom, a dad, a daughter. Rotating between the early 80s and the early 2020s, we follow the lives of these three people as they become who are they are going to become through circumstances they can‘t control. So realistic it almost reads as a memoir written by these three characters. Life has really changed since the 80s and it had better stay changed, equality for everyone.

This story is a little creepy but had me biting my nails to the end. Dan is witness to a crime when he‘s a child, and has spent his life trying to put his guilt behind him. When his father suspiciously dies, he returns to the island that was his home, and begins to try to solve the crime that he was a small part of. Some very poetic language here which surprised me. And a gripper of a story.

We do not care if we sent our son Strange Pictures even though we hadn‘t read it, but because lots of Litsy readers liked it, and he likes puzzles, but then he asked if he was a Guinea pig, to which we replied some children might just say thanks for sending me a book mom, after which we heard an embarrassed laugh.

#WDNCW @dabbe

I didn‘t love this book. I didn‘t even like any of the characters. Or the story. Or the writing style. Would have bailed but I wanted to finish it for #camplitsy25. Three siblings try to keep the bad guys at bay in small town Virginia as they keep the family crematorium running and try to solve the mystery of their missing mother. One drunk brother, one savvy brother, and one nondescript sister try to keep it together, but it‘s tough.

Two women in Australia, leading their separate lives, following their own paths. I can‘t say enough about the language of this book: powerful, mesmerizing, poetic. How about amazing? We don‘t even know their names, but we know them in the deepest sense. We see them, although often others can‘t. A boatload of stars for this book, do not miss it. And thanks a bazillion to @Jas16 How could anyone not love this book?

Finally got around to this futuristic story where you can have a chip implanted in your brain to help you sleep. Who wouldn‘t want to sleep better? On the down side, however, the chip company can see your dreams and then determine if you are a threat to society. Narrator Sara is thus detained at LAX and sent to a retention center, a prison of sorts, where she will be under observation for three weeks to determine if she actually is a threat. ⬇️

We do not care that United Airlines was out of “complimentary” seats for my flight to Seattle in August, and made me pay an additional thirty bucks just to have a seat, a middle seat no less. That extra money means a lot to United.

#WDNCW

I‘m really torn about what to say about this memoir written by the daughter of Erica Jong, famous of course for writing Fear of Flying in 1973. As her mother descends into dementia in her 70s, daughter Molly tries to analyze both of their lives, her childhood, her need for her mother to actually see her. I‘m not particularly interested in Erica Jong but I understand that her daughter needed to get this stuff out, and thus this book. ⬇️

So happy for #CampLitsy25 because I would never have picked up this book about the friendship between a trans teenager and her teacher, who is just beginning to face the process of transitioning. To be honest, the first third of the book did not speak to me, and I put it down over and over. But then during the middle third, the story started to gel, and the last third was magnificent. Truly spectacular. So many interesting characters ⬇️

1. Waterfall in my favorite spot in Botanic Garden.
2. Just back from Kopp‘s in Milwaukee. Amazing birthday cake ice cream flavor with actual pieces of yellow cake in it!
3. We think we finally got rid of the family of raccoons that were living under the deck.
4. Husband had two biopsies of strange growths on his skin, turned out ok.
5. Planning annual trip to Seattle to visit my son, going overnite to Leavenworth.

#5JoysFriday @peaKnit

Couldn‘t put this thriller down! Thanks @AmyG Lots to unpack in this psychological thriller about a daughter keeping her mother hostage in their house. Alternating between 25 years ago and the present, as well as alternating both viewpoints, leads to many truths, lies, murders etc. Plus a satisfying ending by a very good writer.

We do not care if husband steps right over folded sheets and towels sitting right there on the stairs to be brought up. We will call him out on it anyway to which he will reply that HE DIDN‘T SEE THEM!

#WDNCW @dabbe

Here we are at the end of June. Happy to open the discussion about Gabriele and welcome all comments. Personally I found this to be one slog of a book. I never found any of these people interesting in the slightest outside of the fact that they‘re the worst parents in history! Gabriele could have been an outstanding musician, but no, she gave up her whole career to cater to her husband. Anybody love this book? ⬇️

This was an interesting book, as was her first book, My Husband. Both are stories of obsessive women, this one being about Cloe who is determined to be a famous singer ala Taylor Swift. She sets about her course of action to achieve this and we follow her as she ascends the ladder to stardom. A few words to describe her: vicious, cold, manipulative, and she never changes. Not for a moment. Great ending that I didn‘t see coming.

1. Sent my daughter & boyfriend marble run to build for their 3rd anniversary, extra glue included.
2. Two friends and I got a commemorative brick at the Botanic Garden in honor of our friend‘s mom & brother.
3. Soilandsoulfarm.org. Met with the very cool guy who runs this regenerative farm in the northwest suburbs.
4. Brazilian lemonade recipe from NYT, frothy and made with limes.
5. Met old friend at dog friendly new restaurant.

#5JoysFriday

I loved this book. Meet Bud, an obituary writer with a wry sense of humor and an amazing circle of friends. He‘s all about life and death, living and dying. I even wrote down this quote “We do not know where death awaits us: so let us wait for it everywhere. To practice death is to practice freedom.” Did I mention that I loved this book? I cried through the last 50 pages. I even loved the author‘s note and the acknowledgments!

One day in the life of extremely pregnant Annie, who has the bad luck to be shopping at IKEA on the day of a major earthquake in Oregon. We follow her all day, interspersed with chapters describing her past, as she speaks constantly to the unborn child she‘s carrying. I liked this book and it made me think about what I would do in a devastating circumstance like this one. Very provocative for #camplitsy25

This book begins in 1908 in Paris, where Gabriele Buffet begins her adult life. She has a lifelong relationship with Francis Picabia, painter and poet, marries him and has four children with him. She has other relationships with Marcel Duchamp, Igor Stravinsky, Elsa Schiaparelli to name a few. Picabia is a horrible husband (many affairs) and a horrible father (never thinks about the kids for one minute). Hard to say why she stays with him ⬇️

Really liked this #CampLitsy25 book about a disabled Nigerian woman who writes a best-selling science fiction book. Mostly her point of view interspersed with chapters from her book, and the occasional voices of family members and her boyfriend. Did not see where this book was going, a total surprise. Very enjoyable!

@Reggie

Did anybody watch this live Broadway production last night? It was magnificent.

So happy to get the fourth installment in this series “The Elements.” Four unique stories, novellas really, all connected in ways that you don‘t see coming, each one its own journey. Highly recommend and a must to read in order. Try to get them all at one time as they‘re impossible to put down!

Finished this short book in one day for #CampLitsy25. Who is this woman who narrates two different stories about her life, either or neither of which could be true? And what exactly is her relationship with young Xavier, is it good or bad? And her husband fits into both of these stories as well. A lot to unpack, will look forward to discussing in a couple of weeks.

Just a reminder to pick up a copy of the tagged book to read in June for #EuropaCollective. Feel free to comment anytime and we‘ll plan to discuss at the end of the month. Let me know if you want to be added or dropped from the tagged list. Happy reading!

1. Got all my flowers into pots.
2. So many great books waiting for me.
3. Cutest bunny ever!
4. Korean fried chicken with grandson, which he‘d never tasted.
5. 3 Queen Bees.

#5JoysFriday. @DebinHawaii

Even knowing most of what this book says, reading the details in real time is gripping. And of course we all know the ending, no twists, no surprises. There are so many what-ifs, so many sad stories. I never read books like this, but I‘m glad I read this one.

I‘m on a roll, one good book after another! One old black and white photo causes Hannah to return to London from Australia. As we get to know her, we meet past generations of her family, who they were, how they lived. Her boyfriend Max seems so great, but he‘s a ghost from the very beginning, and as we learn about her past, he does as well. It‘s a sad story, but made quite the impression.

I‘ve been meaning to get to this book for ages. 40 women locked in a bunker for years, not abused, just living their lives, day after day, guards bringing them food. How did they get there? What happens to their minds? How are they living like this? It‘s narrated by the youngest among them, the one who‘s thinking the clearest. I couldn‘t put it down.

A very thought provoking 122 page book about an inflatable dinghy filled with migrants trying to cross the English Channel. Parts 1 and 3 are narrated by the coastguard agent who is in communication with someone on the boat, and part 2 describes what the people on the boat are actually going through. Short listed for the International Booker, brilliantly written, highly recommend.

Thanks so much to everyone who recommended this book about an ordinary Irish family who is forced into a devastating situation. Is it possible 10 year old Lucy murdered 3 year old Mia? We learn the back story of every member of Lucy‘s household and what could have led up to this horrifying possibility. An excellent story about families, suppressed feelings and making peace with the world into which you are born.

1. Went shopping for summer flowers. It was cold and rainy but empty so easy to navigate.
2. Finally found a use for a dish I bought in Seattle last summer, my first succulent garden!
3. Hubby and two grandkids looking good.
4. Excited to think about getting back to #EuropaCollective.
5. One Queen Bee, it‘s been awhile.

#5JoysFriday. @DebinHawaii

Harlan Coben writes good mysteries and I think I‘ve read them all. This one kept me guessing til the end, what happened to wealthy Victoria Belmont on that fateful New Year‘s Eve and why did she disappear for eleven years. Sometimes you just feel like a good mystery told with humor and this book does exactly that. I particularly liked the narrator‘s class that he teaches to would-be detectives, No Shit Sherlock.

So…BarbaraBB and I are going to get #EuropaCollective back together in the fall. If you want to be added or dropped from the list, just let me know. Meanwhile, thanks to @tpixie we‘re going to read the tagged book in June and discuss at the end of the month.

@BarbaraBB @mcctrish @Jess_Read_This @GatheringBooks @tpixie @kspenmoll @Gleefulreader @LeahBergen @TheBookDream @DrexEdit @Sapphire @TheKidUpstairs @Aimeesue @Deblovestoread @charl08