Welcome to Litsy!

It took some time getting into this book but when I did it turned out to be a very emotional read. It's the start of WWII and a group of promising musicians escapes Germany and moves to France. Before long the Germans invade Paris and all their hopes shatter. It is a time of betrayal and fear. Years later the friends have to come to terms with each other and with what happened in those dark days.

#booker #pop22 #AnisfieldWolfAwardWinner

I brought 5 books away for our summer holiday up north & this one captured my interest first. A group of jazz musicians are stranded first in Berlin & then in Paris as WW 2 breaks out. They are a mix of Germans & Americans, black, white and Jewish. Ultimately its about passion and jealousy, love and friendship playing out in a most dangerous time. A great read if you love a slow unravelling of character and motivation. Or if you love jazz 😍

#3books written by a POC

I did a quick skim of the posts and picked a few authors I didn't see already listed. Coincidentally, all 3 of these books are high up on my TBR list.

@OriginalCyn620 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Got my first book for #summerfun bingo without intending to which is lucky! Just finished Half Blood Blues today, and I normally avoid historical fiction set in World War Two as much as I can. Nice to have a box ticked off ok the first day!

@4thhouseontheleft @StayCurious

This was right on the line between a pick and a so-so for me. If any book could make me like World War Two historical fiction it would be this, the writing and characters were excellent but I just don‘t like novels about World War Two (I‘ve had enough for one lifetime now). I can‘t fault the writing and I recommend it wholeheartedly if you like that genre. I would have loved more set in the 90s wirh the older men looking back on their lives

I picked this one up because I had been reading a lot of classics and historical fic, which had no #blackvoices in them. I wanted to go back in time with a PoC and this book DID NOT disappoint. Set at the outset of ww2, it follows a mostly black jazz band living and playing in Germany. As the war nears, they make the daring decision to cross into France, hoping to cut their breakout record. But things go awry.

I tag anyone who is into it 😊

I‘m not sure how to feel about this book. I kind of impulse bought the book after seeing it on the shelf so many times. I frequent book stores a little bit more than I care to admit. I enjoyed the story, but I think it was the ending that just fell for me. There were some really beautiful moments and crafting of the story, don‘t get me wrong. But, it missed the mark just a bit for me.

Finished this while laid up in bed with a kidney infection (thanks again to everyone who sent me well wishes yesterday during my 12-hour ER visit). The story did drag a little in the middle, but overall, I loved reading about the experience of black people in Nazi Germany (and other parts of Europe at that time). I'm not a big reader of historical fiction, but I'll recommend this to friends of mine who are.

Stuck in the ER for pain 😞 I guess it's a reading day.

It definitely has me flipping pages! (Well... tapping the screen, technically)

A cat, a book about a couple of jazz musicians during (and after) WWII, and jazz music in the background. I'm all set for snowstorm hibernation 😌

Starting Half Blood Blues today 🎷🎸🎺 I tried Washington Black on audio, but couldn't get into the narrator. Figured I'd start here instead. The music theme is more interesting to me at the moment, anyways.

Day 6 of #7Days7Covers. My own copy‘s got a bunch of award stickers on it, so I dug through my archives in search of the relevant #murchieplusbooks photo, taken with the library copy I originally read.

This novel charts the fate of of a group of African-American jazz musicians in Nazi Germany. I recall liking it when I read it.
#musicalnewyear #musicofthenight
@cinfhen @vivastory

Whoa. What a beautifully written book. Going between 1939 and present day. Beautiful.

Coffee collagen smoothie and reading post workout. Looking like I won‘t make my Goodreads challenge for the first time ever but whatevs. I‘m still reading and still loving reading.

The link to Billie Holiday aka the #angelofharlem is tenuous at best! Though there is a character in the book who may be slightly inspired by her. But it is a book about Jazz as well as historical fiction and a story of friendship and betrayal. This title won the Giller Prize as did Edugyan‘s more recent work Washington Black.
#WinterWonderland

Reading between calls.
Haven‘t been able to read as much as I‘d like lately but hoping this night shift is uneventful so I can get some reading in.

Books and booze!

#SeptemberDanes #fromparistoberlin
@Cinfhen @Kalalalatja

I loved this book both times I read it, and I'm excited that Edugyan has a new book out (and appearing on a couple awards long and short lists!). Anyone read Washington Black yet?

#FromParistoBerlin
(Well, it's really #FromBerlintoParis, but close enough!)
#SeptemberDanes @Cinfhen @Kalalalatja

I went to an author event with Esi Edugyan tonight, and she signed my copy of HALF-BLOOD BLUES!

She also told us this wild story about its road to publication. I'm glad it all worked out in the end and we got this awesome book.

Went to school today to set up my classroom and as a reward for dragging my ass on the last possible day I went to the book outlet! I paid 15 Canadian dollars for these beauties! Happy labour day weekend I suppose.

1. I love a bunch, but I'm gonna push HALF-BLOOD BLUES today.
2. Led Zeppelin, Billy Talent, RHCP, Loreena McKennitt, Tori Amos, Goo Goo Dolls, The Offspring
3. RHCP. Soon as they came on, everyone in the crowd stood up and we spent the whole concert dancing and singing along and being in the moment. We drowned them out on "Scar Tissue!" The light show was awesome, too.
4. "Cold War" by Janelle Monáe, among many others
#manicmonday @JoScho

Sometimes I had to trick Murchie into posing with a book. Little dude thought he was hanging out on the couch, totally unmolested, while I was down at the other end snapping a picture. #murchieplusbooks

A small selection of diverse books by non-American authors. Geographic diversity is also important, y'all. #diversity #anditsaugust

#junebookbugs day 21: #multiethnic
I've been meaning to read these two books - ok I probably say that with most posts I put up. And since Half-Blood Blues was a 2011 finalist it means I've been wanting to read it for 6 years now....

#bookshelftourism

Soooo much fun in my #cupidgoespostal package from @Shawna We need to do this every month 😂 Two great books by award winning Canadian authors, a beautful bookish/owl print (is there a better combo??), a sweet pen and READING SOCKS! Thanks so much @Shawna, I love everything and the socks are on as I type 😁
@BookishMarginalia

This was an amazing, heartbreaking story. I loved it.

This season's book market haul. I'm especially thrilled I found my own copy of HALF-BLOOD BLUES and a paperback of THE SUMMER QUEEN. I've been searching for a cheap copy of BELLWEATHER for aaaaages, so this $1 copy was also a real happy-maker. I want to read more from Luis Alberto Urrea, Ted Chiang, and Eva Ibbotson, too, and I'm glad I'll have a chance to try WINDROSE. The Camilla Läckberg is for my father, but I'll borrow it when he's done.

This book offered a novel lens through which to view an aspect of WWII I had not previously read. I tried to imagine the lives of these characters, but ultimately, there was not enough to sustain me. The story did not provide the details sufficient to paint that picture, and I failed to be captivated by the characters. Perhaps if I knew more about jazz from that era, it would have been more engaging.

Excellent, excellent book. History, music, characters who are oh, so human, and forgiveness all in one book.

Excellent, excellent book. History, music, characters who are oh, so human, and forgiveness all in one book.

I tried. Had to bail. The language just didn't ring true for me.

My pick for 'book & music' for #Augustofpages, the FANTASTIC Half-blood Blues by Esi Edugyan. Jazz and the struggle to survive in Paris in 1940. So good.
#Augustphotochallenge

Fun Photo Friday, Pt. 2: More amazing Canadian authors! Including POC bc they're under-represented in Canadian literature: Alice Munro, Emily St. John Mandel, Lawrence Hill, Esi Edugyan (Ghanaian heritage), Tracey Lindberg (Cree), & Nalo Hopkinson (Jamaican)--I LOVE HER. More coming! 🇨🇦

My stack some TBR in there as well. Happy Canada Day @Liberty

Reading location for today, Central Park. Hello NYC sunshine! 😃☀️