A letter from Vonnegut dated 11-5-2006. Incredible.

Catherine Ryan Howard's upcoming book. Pub. 8/16/22. I recall Howard speaking about this during a Q & A for 56 Days. Inspired by an anecdote her brother, a professional actor told her about filming on location, it seems like a meta horror-thriller. Clocking in at over 500 pages it might be her biggest one yet. Can't wait!

This is absolutely heartbreaking news 💔I was lucky enough to be a guest on Reading Envy years ago & always greatly enjoyed talking to Jenny.

☕ I have to say that despite having a second life as the name of a corporate coffee chain, Starbuck is one of my least favorite characters.

I was looking at reviews of the tagged book when I saw the above on the book page. Sir, this is a Wendy's.

Well, that took a turn

Happy 30th Birthday to one of the greatest 🎉🎂🍾

A big congrats to SGJ for winning the Stoker for best novel!🎉 Also, congrats to Hailey Piper for best first novel for Queen of Teeth🍾

Now reading. I have just finished the Yazz section and I have to say that what Evaristo accomplished in those 30 pages is pretty remarkable.

Yes, Moby Dick is a revenge tale. I'd argue it's as much an existential story.

The headline of The Guardian review of Mills' novel reads, “This deceptively slim novel about blokes at a pub vinyl night could be read as a disguised retelling of the Russian revolution, or any great human falling out.“ Really? Yes, really! I would add that it is quite funny. FRS, is about two music loving friends who decide to start a weekly “listening society“ in the back of their local pub. The narrator's friend James soon proves himself👇

When I tell you I cackled 🤣

This occurs during the first meeting. The "latecomer" is only the second person to show up aside from the Forensic Records Society co-founders. ?

Now starting. I've heard great things about this one.

In colonial New England a woman disappears in the woods after telling her husband & son that she was going to pick berries. Hunt's dark fable/psychological horror story is like mashup of Lolly Willowes & Eggers' 2015 film The VVitch, except a bit wilder. There were a few uncomfortable scenes in this work & I hope to reread it at some point in the next couple of months to gain a better appreciation. Although it seemed to veer off the rails a bit👇

“What we miss-what we lose and what we mourn-isn't it this that makes us who, deep down, we truly are.“
The Friend opens with the suicide of a close friend of the narrator. The friend was a professor, with a long history of inappropriate relationships with his students, & an acclaimed writer. Following the memorial service one of his wives informs the narrator that he had expressed that if anything were to happen he wanted his Harlequin Great👇

The rest of my HPB haul. Harbach's novel of baseball & Melville. Perfect timing! I'd never heard of this McCoy before, but intrigued. I've been meaning to read more Tyler & this is frequently cited as a favorite. And on the clearance shelf, the tagged book for just a couple of dollars. No dust jacket, but irresistible regardless!

An hour to spare between appointments this afternoon led to an impromptu HPB stop. The de Beauvoir, previously unpublished & with an introduction by Atwood, sounds interesting. At 150 pages it's a bit less intimidating than a few other bricks by de Beauvoir that have been lingering on my TBR. I can't wait to return to Strout"s world. Olive Kitteridge is one of my favorite characters of the past few years. I've been thinking about Denis Johnson ?

This passage is after the narrator reads Rilke to Apollo, the Harlequin Great Dane left in her care following her friend's suicide.

Bringing some new friends home

My contribution to #NationalLimerickDay

Thoughts on the designs of the Miss Marple reissues? I'm not completely convinced, but they have my interest...(Image taken from IG)

An epic conclusion to a graphic novel series that I inhaled. The opening pages of each issue incorporates the title in an interesting format, as seen above. Haints, battling witches & more with a gruesome ending that 100% sticks the landing. I haven't read many witch stories, but HC is now firmly a favorite.

1) I love going to the movies! I only go for ones that I'm really excited about, but it's always one of my most anticipated activities. I also enjoy live music, but haven't been since the pandemic.
2) Just on Litsy. I tend to skip past reviews of my most anticipated until I have read the book. I have thought about buying a subscription to Kirkus as I used to love reading their reviews.
3) My recliner in my living room.
#wondrouswednesday @Eggs

Join @Billypar & I in July as we read & discuss Guinean author Camara Laye's sophomore novel. The July selection will mark the last month for our current group & a little over 3 years since #NYRBBookClub first started. After some thought I have decided to not continue as a co-host. The monthly discussions have been a monthly bright spot for me & it prompted me to read several books that I would not have otherwise read that are now favorites.👇

The only graphic novel series that I have read this year that I have loved more than Harrow County is Monstress. At the beginning of HC Hester Beck is murdered by the citizens of Harrow County for witchcraft. Years later livestock is mysteriously dying & 17 year old Emmy finds herself accused of witchcraft. HC is not a conventional horror story. Praised by Lemire & Chabon, this is "southern-fried macabre folklore at its finest."

I was already familiar with much of the information about Marie & Pierre Curie in Radioactive thanks to Sam Kean's excellent The Bastard Brigade. However, there was definitely info new to me & the artwork is incredible. A worthwhile graphic memoir about a remarkable & complex couple & their fascinating scientific circle.

1) Top 5: Empire of Pain, Hail Mary, Basic Black with Pearls, Moby Dick (I'm at the halfway point) & My Heart is a Chainsaw.
2) No. I always concentrate better with silence.
@TheSpineView #two4tuesday

In a scene wholly original, yet calling to mind E.A. Poe in the best possible way, Vietnamese American teacher Winnie disappears at the beginning of Kupersmith's novel. The novel then proceeds in non-linear chapters filled with disquieting incidents & characters who reappear in later chapters but aren't instantaneously recognizable (they themselves disappear in a sense). The chapters & characters initially appear unconnected, but Kupersmith ties👇

This was more of an experiment than anything. Aside from Ian Doescher's Shakespearean rendition of A New Hope, I have never read a Star Wars novel. Ronin piqued my interest for two reasons: the Asian setting of Candon's world (afterall Kurosawa was the biggest cinematic influence on Lucas) & that the MC is a Sith hunting down other Siths. This book started out strong, but at about the halfway point there began to be filler dialogue & Candon

Well, I finally finished a book 📚🤘 I actually focused all day & finished 2 of my 3 current reads today. Will post reviews of them tomorrow. One of them is one of the best that I've read this year. 💙

Littens! I have a question: I am currently in the middle of 3 very different books (a classic, a contemporary fiction and a Sci Fi). I'm enjoying all of them, but I feel pretty frustrated that my weekend is nearly over and I haven't finished a single one. Should I continue juggling my 3 current reads? I read nearly every day, but weekends are my best time for reading. For me it's very rare to not have finished a book once the weekend is over.

I'm only 80 pages in, but I'm really liking this one. So far I agree with Karen Joy Fowler's quote about it being original and disturbing.

Here are my #summercampsuggestions for #CampTOB22 I used a combo of my mental TBR, fellow Littens' posts & a quick browse of Lit Hub's '22 most anticipated guide, A quick caveat: I did not post any books that I would like to see on the end of the yr TOB. None of the 3 big April releases (Stuart, Mandel, Egan), the recent Batuman or the forthcoming Mosfegh. I wouldn't be upset if the ones I posted made it onto the regular TOB & they're still TBR.

I just finished the famous, or infamous, Cetology 32 chapter. For years now I have heard people talk about what a slog this chapter was, I was expecting a 40+ page dry scholarly account of the anatomy of whales. Not 13 lively, humorous pages of, "the classification of the constituents of chaos.." I have read more boring world building in a Brandon Sanderson novel. ?

I've had my eye on the Penguin Vitae Edition of Mrs. Dalloway, but I am a sucker for annotated editions. Plus, Merve Emre 👏 I'm thinking this would appeal to several Littens! (Image taken from Twitter)

I know that this released just yesterday, but I'm curious if anyone has watched it? When The Staircase was first released in '04, I was riveted. I stayed up all night watching several episodes & as soon as I left work the following day I immediately went to Hollywood Video & rented the remaining few. Definitely one of my favorite true crime documentaries of all time. I never did see the new episodes from a few years ago.

This short, but informative, article on book designer Bascove is really interesting. Bonus points for mentioning the tagged book about books & featuring her artwork. I was unaware of it, but have added it to my TBR:
https://lithub.com/on-the-groundbreaking-art-of-bascoves-book-covers/

On New Year's Eve '99 the crew on the closing shift at a Blockbuster are murdered, leaving one survivor. The main suspect flees & is not seen again after being released for insufficient evidence. Fifteen years later a similar event happens at an ice cream parlor, leading many to think that the murderer has returned. Having worked at Blockbuster from 97-98, I have a bit of a soft spot for that connection with the novel. Although not as clever or👇

I saw it coming, but still...WTF
I've said it before...elections have consequences.

Finlay's Every Last Fear was one of my favorite thrillers of last year, so I have high hopes for his latest. I know that several Littens have praised it

Spine design matters. Case in point: the recently redesigned Penguin Black Classic spines. They have done away with the orange lettering for the author name which is now in white. I hate it. The majority of the time spine design is simply repeating the cover design. The 6 pictured books (Penguin Drop Caps, Harper Perennial Olive Editions, Everyman's Library) are deviations from this & I love them. More of this, please. @leahbergen

Having just returned from the theaters where I saw The Northman, I thought now is a good time to repost the picture of my signed Sjón book. Author of strange & wonderful novellas & screenwriter of 2 strange & wonderful movies. Also, an early fan of Backlisted!

I 💙 this BBC footage of a Puffin's Club from the 70s:
https://twitter.com/i_am_mill_i_am/status/1518647071150067712