Welcome to Litsy!

Took me just over 4 months to read. It was worth every moment. I never once thought of stopping. Washington is definitely presented in a manner worthy of his place in history. He was a man driven by principle and quite fallible as a human. This is also an excellent study in leadership. Get it.

I'm gonna dive into this #chunkster. 817 pages not counting acknowledgements, notes, bibliography, and index. Might be a while before y'all see me on here again.🤣🤣🤣

Looking ahead to 2024. These are my must reads for the year. That's 10 books I hope to glean much wisdom from.

You guys, I finally finished this doorstop of a book! It only took me 4 years!

Got these two chunksters today. Now I have to decide which to start first. I'm thinking chronological makes sense.

Another chunkster challenger crosses the finish line! Great job, Gina!

#ChunksterChallenge2022
@GinaKButler

Just finished my first #chunksterchallenge2022 book of the year. Well-researched and interesting biography of the father of our country. I‘m so glad that I picked this up and I‘d definitely recommend! John Adams by David McCullough is next.

Thank you for hosting, @Amiable
#bookspinbingo

Congratulations, Kelly! I'm so happy to hear you loved this chunkster as much as I did.

#ChunksterChallenge2022
@Kelly326

I finished my 1st chunkster of the year today. I learned so much about our 1st president. We might have had a very different country without him. There were many great minds involved in America winning it‘s independence and forming it‘s own government, but George Washington was pivotal in making it all work. A solid 4.5 stars from me.

#chunksterchallenge2022

#chunksterchallenge2022 end-of-month check in: I‘m on page 608 or starting chapter 50. Washington is now the president and the new government is working out his cabinet and the Supreme Court. It‘s really incredible to read how it is all unfolding.

@Amiable

Last-day-of-January-check-in on the #chunksterchallenge2022 I‘m a little ahead of schedule, on page 376. Really enjoying this book and I *may* have suggested a trip to Williamsburg, VA to my husband. 🤣

@Amiable @Kelly326

Here we go! Buddy-reading this “mini-chunkster” for Q1 with @Kelly326 for the #chunksterchallenge2022

Thank you for hosting, @Amiable 📚

I am ready tomorrow to start Chunkster #1. Sticky notes are in place. It is 817 pages, so just 10 pages a day for the next 90 days. Let‘s go!!

#chunksterchallenge2022

I finished! Struggled to stay interested in this at first. Not by any fault of the author just parts of George's life were often dull. It picked up steam when Hamilton and Lafayette showed up. But all in all a solid well researched Biography. That's the short review.

I have thoughts. Many thoughts. Read Here:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8255917-washington

#presidentialreading 🇺🇲

After pausing for Goodreads Choice and Holiday Reads, I started back on this on Inauguration Day. On Page 655. Determined to finish by the end of January so I can get back to Barack Obama's A Promised Land. I want to finish it by President's Day.#presidentialreading🇺🇸

Diving into this chunkster. My new sleeping bag with legs keeps me warm on the porch!

Pt 1 - Childhood into young man making his way in the world first as a Surveyor and then as a Soldier. Retiring from the Army - "The British Empire had committed a major blunder by spurning the talents of such a natural leader..... he had passed through an excellent dress rehearsal for the prolonged ordeal of the American Revolution."

About to marry Martha.
? ???
#herecomesthegeneral
#washingtonchapteraday
#historyhasitseyesonyou

Washington goes on a Wilderness Mission:
"The young envoy was still feeling his way in a disorienting new world that did not abide by the polite rules of Virginia drawing rooms."

And parlays that into Lt Colonel: "Almost twenty-two, Washington was emerging as a wunderkind to be reckoned with in the world of Virginia politics."
? ???
#herecomesthegeneral
#washingtonchapteraday
#historyhasitseyesonyou

"Throughout his life, he exhibited a faultless precision in dress, regarding a person‘s apparel as the outward sign of inner order."
? ???
#herecomesthegeneral
#washingtonchapteraday
#historyhasitseyesonyou

"Lawrence (Washington's half brother)retained clear affection for Admiral Vernon and, in a burst of Anglophilia, would rename the Little Hunting Creek estate Mount Vernon, hanging the admiral‘s portrait in an honored place there. Thus the name of a forgotten British admiral would implausibly grace America‘s secular shrine to the revolt against British rule."
? ???
#herecomesthegeneral
#washingtonchapteraday
#historyhasitseyesonyou

"Here comes the general
Ladies and gentlemen
Here comes the general
The moment you've been waiting for
Here comes the general
The pride of Mount Vernon
Here comes the general
George Washington"

After hours of the Hamilton Soundtrack and #mynameisalexanderhamiltonreadalong and biography of King George were on to Washington. ? ???
#herecomesthegeneral
#washingtonchapteraday
#historyhasitseyesonyou

Day 20 of #adventrecommends ... forget “Hamilton.” I loved this account of the life of George Washington. I felt like I saw GW as a human being rather than simply as the mythical, heroic Father of Our Country that he is often portrayed. I was fascinated by his difficult relationship with his mother, his fears of dying before the age of 40, his doubts about his own abilities and regrets about his lack of education, and his marriage to Martha.

Dear Ron Chernow,

Women are not prey and should never be stalked like game animals by anyone.

Also - to infer that a woman‘s financial status is what makes her some big game trophy (in your misogynistic view) is gross. And dumb.

I‘d actually send this to you but you seem the type who‘d slide into my DMs and start sexting me by mentioning your Pulitzer and then asking to see my ample bosom.

You‘re gross.
LauraBeth

I re-wrote this passage for Chernow:

“Reconstructions of Sally‘s life offered by her friends and family through letters, reveal that Sally was well-read, fluent in French and she wished to be thought of by her intellect, character and personality - not by her looks or her boobs.” - LauraBeth

After I read American Royals, I realized that I know nothing about George Washington. So I started reading this 1,000 page bio and now I can‘t stop. I am also now engaging the husband with sentences that begin with: “Did you know that George Washington...” Also - Chernow uses big words and is making me realize the shortcomings and limitations of my own vocabulary. I feel like my Kindle is going to blurt out: “Again? You need the dictionary AGAIN?”

If only George had been a KarJenner.

Same, George. Different foreign power, but the rest is 💯 on point.

Lafayette: Slavery is *super* wrong, Dad.

Washington: I know son, but I don't know how to stop doing it.

Lafayette: Hmmmmm...

Lafayette: *buys a plantation and frees the slaves it came with*

Lafayette: Dad! I figured it out!

Washington: That's nice, son. I'm very proud of you.

Cranking up the volume when Baron von Steuben showed up at Valley Forge like he's my jam 🤣 #audiobook #Audible #gayPrussianSanta

☑️ Frederick Douglass audiotome

⬜ George Washington audiotome

#audiobook #Audible #Pulitzer (Biography, 2010)

Thanks for the #wondrouswednesday tag @kspenmoll !
1️⃣ Middlemarch
2️⃣Pride and Prejudice
3️⃣1762 as per my Goodreads list (I keep adding to it every time I hear of something interesting)!
4️⃣Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5️⃣I‘ll tag anyone who wants to join in!

After reading Hamilton I knew I wanted to tackle this book too, especially as it won the Pulitzer Prize. Chernow really brought Washington to life, revealing his human qualities, both positive and negative. I really appreciate learning more about him and the fascinating birth of the country now as an adult than I did back in my school days. Now I‘m on an early American history reading kick but may take a break before moving onto John Adams!

Spending part of my vacation getting my car fixed is made a little more palatable with a muffin, fancy coffee, and a really good book. ☕️📚 #amreading #presidentialbiographyproject

Guess who finally finished this brick? I feel like people are going to think the book is bad by how excited I am to be done finishing it- it was actually really good. 900 pages is just a lot haha

It‘s just going to be me and this guy for a long while.

Wonderful account of the life of George Washington - the full picture, warts and all. You see GW as a human being rather than as the mythical, heroic Father of Our Country as he is often portrayed. I was enthralled by the story of his prickly relationship with his mom, his fears that he would die by 40, his doubts about his abilities (due to his regrets about his lack of education), and his life with Martha.

Day 6: #adventrecommends

This book is making me want to add this phrase to my day to day vocabulary. 😆 #MoneyMoneyMoney #ABBAinAugust

Super excited to have picked this up for such a great price today. #kindledeal

Let‘s see. Where have I seen this before 🤔🙃
#white #readingresolutions

This would be a great illustration for several parts of it. I loved the part where Martha had to release a bunch of enslaved because their freedom was delayed until her death and they spoke fondly of her demise. #GirlPlease I was also struck by what was an ability for Washington to be surprised by duh things (eg his enslaved weren‘t motivated by his success. Wow.)

National Portrait Gallery—
“Behind the myth of benevolence,”
by: Titus Kaphar

“His wide hips and powerful thighs caused the most trouble.” I feel you, Georgie.

I can only manage one book at a time. So that means that my decision to start this behemoth of a book has slowed my reading life down to almost nothing! I‘m learning a lot but I‘m ready to get back to reading other things soon.

Called out! #ReadingResolutions #CurrentBookQuote