Welcome to Litsy!

Man, I don‘t know. Once upon a time, I wrote a paper about female representation in superhero comics. I spent some time talking about the “Women in Refrigerators” phenomenon: violence enacted upon women for the sole purpose of furthering a male character‘s storyline. Without its presence, this would have received a solid 4 stars from me. I don‘t know if I‘ll read the rest of the series. I am befuddled. Well, June‘s #bookspin is done, anyway.

The prompts that were drawn for June‘s #BookSpin were a Litsy TBR book and a GoodReads TBR book! Both of these have been on their respective lists for a long time! 😅 We make the big move tomorrow, and while we‘re staying at my Mom‘s house for a couple of nights until we can get into our new apartment, I‘ll need some reading time! ☺️

Rape as plot device makes no other rating possible :(

I got home yesterday from a wonderful, although short, trip to Narita, Japan. While there though, I made a point of taking my current read to the Naritasan Temple for some pictures. #flightattendantlife #currentread #naritasantemple

Trigger warnings for rape, pedophilia, violence, and rampant sexism. I would have bailed but I‘m planning on sticking with all of our book club‘s books. 😩 i just didnt like this book and it was for a lot of reasons. Wish I could get the five hours I spent in it back.

This book is interesting for sure (loads of sex, violence, and creepiness (à la Lolita) heads up), but it‘s not one I‘m loving. It could be that the fictional world seems boring (ripped straight from Japanese history) or that the storytelling is not very emotional (the great man did the thing and said some words and people cried - it‘s dry, i guess?) or something else. Ive got 15% left so we‘ll see how it wraps up. #currentlyreading

I enjoyed this less than I wanted to. It was a solid fantasy with the trappings of ancient Japan, but I never really bonded with the main character, Shikanoko. I do not relish the thought of spending another 3 books with him, especially due to a horrible act he commits in the last few pages.

That said, the rest of the cast is vast and interesting, with complex shading given to characters that would have been forgotten about in other narratives.

1. Jurassic Park! Jurassic Park came out the year I turned 10 and reworked my brain. I read the book that same summer.
2. Tater tots
3. Watching the ‘80s set Amazon Prime show Red Oaks has introduced me to a lot of great music from that era, my favorite being the New Wave band The Jetzons.
4. Good, but life has been slowing my progress down.

#Starting #SummerOfShort #CoverLove

It has been a long time since I enjoyed reading from the fantasy genre! This book have everything I love - Asian background, fantasy and Asian mythologies, a little bit of love and enough adventure to keep me wanting for more! Can‘t wait to dive into book 2,3 and 4! #lianhearn #taleofshikanoko #japanesefantasy

I can finally start this book series! #lianhearn #taleofshikanoko #nowreading

Thanks to my book fairy, my Shikanoko series is now complete! 💗 #lianhearn #taleofshikanoko

1. The Delfonics small utility pouch. I‘m obsessed with pouches, bags and organizers of all kinds.
2. Neither I‘m a sour candy kinda girl
3. The Tale of Shikanoko by Lian Hearn
4. A published author (its still what I want to be when I grow up)
5. 13 #humpdaypost

This book is brilliant. Never before was I aware of how easily and instantly I categorize characters into 'good' and 'bad', because in this work those categories are constantly being thrown over, through adding layers which are often overlooked or not reflected. Hearn is an amazing storyteller and she obviously researched a LOT about medieval Japan and it's mythical folklore.
Honestly I didn't expect to be so taken with this book!

And one GoodReads challenge completed early.

This ended up not quite being a five 🌟 as I had hoped, but it was worth a good 4🌠

It has a lot of characters to follow and moves around the world map quite a bit. I found myself regularly referencing the character list and map at the front of the book.

With the number of deaths, violence, and rapes, I found this book to be a Japanese Game of Thrones. There were moments I wasn't sure who was the hero.

#fantasy

This map follows a five page long list of characters 😆 I'm so intimidated by long lists of characters, because it makes me fear i might not be able to keep up with them 🙈 Well, looking forward to my new read for the commute!

Dinner tonight includes corn on the cob. The season has been longer this year due to excessive rain, but I don't know how much longer we'll get. So we are eating as much as we can! 😁

Lunch and starting a fresh new book. #fantasy

I was tagged by @Sarah83

📚 The Shikanoko Series. I tagged book one
🎥 Fallen Angels by Wong Kar Wai. So excited/hopeful for his new Netflix series.
💛 isn't it obvious?! Yellow
🥐Gateau Au chocolat from my favorite restaurant or Hong Kong polo bun.
🌼 Stargazer lilies. I practically had to fight the florist at our wedding to get them instead of roses.

I can't think of anyone who hasn't posted but consider yourself tagged if you want to play

🦌🦌🦌🦌🦌 I love Lian Hearn's writing. Her stories are so imaginative and reading them feels like reading a historical account of something that happened in a different age. But there's magic in there too. This was beautiful. And that cover picture... ❤️❤️❤️

This was sooooo much fun!! 😃🌈♥️I'm always amazed by the ideas @RealLifeReading comes up with for her monthly photo challenges. Making a #BookRainbow put me in an incredibly cheerful mood 🎉 Come on folks, let's all #Fallintobooks 😁

I loved this book. It really drew me in, and even if I thought the dialogue was a bit stilted at first, it turned out to fit really well with the narration.
Plus there's no unnecessary dropping of Japanese terms and honorifics!
I posted a longer review on my blog today! Go to https://alexreadsboooks.wordpress.com to check it out!

Magical historical harrumbles for this one, it felt like a Viking saga only in an alternative medieval Japan with dragons and werehawks and such.

What an incredible book! I absolutely loved this. It was such a pleasure to read a magic fantasy bool set in ancient Japan. The story is utterly engaging and a real page turner. I'm happy to be so behind on this so I can read through the whole series!

A "medieval" fantasy based in a Japan type culture. #library #fantasy #japanese

The first one-third of the book was kinda slow because it was busy building and introducing the world. Once I got used to Japanese names and knew some characters' background, it picked up the pace. In the last few chapters I read so furiously didn't even notice I was getting close to the end!

It felt a lot like some dark, supernatural period manga. I bit too dark at some point but overall a satisfying read.

E on #LitsyAtoZ 5 on #MountainTBR2017

I stumbled upon this book in a blog and decided to give it a try. It was an excellent choice! This book is different from what I usually read. The use of Japanese old stories and lifestyles was great. I will be reading the other three books as soon as possible.

Hey!!! Thanks @Litsy and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for this awesome set of books!!! I am so excited to dig in!! MY TBR IS GETTING TOO LONG GUYS! #blameitonlitsy

Ahhhhhhh! I got #bookmail, you guys! I never get book mail for meeeee. Thank you, @Litsy! These provide much needed beauty and, I suspect, loads of adventure!

#AllHallowsRead

Yay! Book Mail from @Litsy and Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Thanks!!

🎉📚🎉📚🎉📚🎉📚🎉📚🎉📚🎉📚🎉📚🎉

It's time for another #AllHallowsRead giveaway!

For a chance to win a copy of the entire Tale of Shikanoko series from Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, share a post from our photo-a-day challenge! Today's challenge is to post about a Halloween book that's NOT scary. Be sure to tag us and to use the hashtag #AllHallowsRead. Three winners will be chosen today at 10PM EST!!

This was brilliant! Magical and engaging with a good mix of male and female characters. Fans of the Tales of the Otori saga will love reading about the origins of the Tribe. Can't wait for book two! Highly recommended.

I loved the entire series and I'm not one who usually likes series. Interesting and complex characters. Few were 100% good or evil. However, I did lose track of several of the characters.

So I have to admit, I ALWAYS judge a book by its cover. But before you say "how could you?!", I must explain that I've never picked a bad book when choosing by the cover. While walking around the good ole B&N with my old college roommate two beautifully colored books caught my eye. The second and third book on the series! So we scoured the shelfs for the first book and ALAS here she is! I can't wait to get started ?

The Emperor of the Eight Islands takes inspiration from famous Japanese classics and myths, and weaves together a brand new fantasy. I'm genuinely anxious to know what happens to Kiyoyori now that his spirit has taken on a new form. I want to see if Shikanoko ever gains control of his deer power or Sesshin's nugget of power. It's a great escape to a fascinating new world.

It's a really good start, but JUST a start. I wish there'd been a bit more meat on this than what I got, because it really looks like the story is going to be MASSIVELY epic - but then I got to the end of this and I went: "Okay? Now what?" Will still read the second book though. Full review here: http://wp.me/p21txV-ue

10/10 would recommend. Medieval Japan. Multiple characters. Intertwining storylines. Need I say more???

On to the next one #24in48...I'd be lying if I didn't say I picked this out based on the cover 🙈

It's sad how the more misogynistic of our species always forget that a woman can have dreams and aspirations and ambitions that run contrary to the ones they impose on us.

Welcome to ancient Japan, where tengu haunt the mountain forests and intrigue haunts the capital. The ambitions of sorcerers vie with the politics of succession, & children are pawns in the hands of adults until they form their own plans. This magical, historical series will sweep you away. -Jocelyn

Hearn's latest series looks like it was inspired by a mix of the Heike Monogatari and a whole bunch of Japanese legends and folktales. In other words: my kind of literary kryptonite ;). Perfect with a cup of sencha sipped from a celadon-green cup painted with dragonflies on the inside :).

I loved this story with its combination of Japanese mythology and good storytelling. I would be a mess right now if I didn't already have the next book waiting for me. I'm going to review the series as a unit—that seems fitting—but I highly recommend this first book! 👏🏽📚👍🏽🎉

I ❤️ maps!! Started this book today, but I keep getting distracted by this fascinating world. 🏔

After a slow start I did finally get a bit more into this story. My favourite part is still the cover though! Going to take a break before starting book 2.

The internal beat of this tale reminds me a little of the European Medieval chansons des trouveres: The evocation of poetry, the lyrical prose, the linear narrative told in small sections, the ultimate sum somehow greater than the parts... Can't wait to pick up 'Autumn Princess, Dragon Child'!