Welcome to Litsy!

Finished this a couple of weeks ago but kept forgetting to post a review. Hasn‘t read any Lee Smith books before, but she is a mentor to a favorite author, Silas House, so I thought I would like her writing. This is a memoir using essays of Smith‘s childhood in Grundy, Virginia, her parents‘ mental illness, her life as a writer, and her experience with her son‘s mental illness. The story of her son & his death was beautiful.

Thank you, Jessica, for my #littlechristmasswap! @Lovesbooks87 sent my package so early, but it ended up being the smart choice after the postal delays. I‘m excited to read this book—Smith is a mentor to one of my favorite authors. Love the bookmarks & candy. All these swaps are not good for my chocolate consumption, but I love it! @bookish_wookish
At least 2 things I‘m grateful for today-this swap & getting my first Covid vaccination.

Dimestore is an odd mix of a memoir, beginning with a wonderfully vivid description of her childhood, then wandering all over the place - sometimes about reading, sometimes about writing, sometimes about her daily life, sometimes about teaching.

Memoirs can be very difficult to rate, but I absolutely fell in love with this one. These life stories by Lee Smith are honest, funny and hard hitting. She does not shrink away or sugar coat her deep family history of mental illness. This is a well written and refreshing read.

I write because I want more than one life. -Anne Tyler
I could easily substitute "read" for "write"....

"The South runs on denial. We learn denial in the cradle and carry it to the grave. It is absolutely essential to being a lady, for instance."
Ha! Thoroughly enjoying Lee Smith's memoir. Over halfway done. Think I'll finish by the end of the #readathon.

Folded some laundry. Threw another load in. Started the dishwasher. Grabbed some groceries. Back to the #readathon with another memoir, this time: Dimestore by Lee Smith. Another great Southern author. #memoir

😂😂😂

"Whether we are writing fiction or nonfiction, journaling or writing for publication, writing is an inherently therapeutic activity. Simply to line up words one after another upon a page is to create some order where it did not exist, to give a recognizable shape to the chaos of our lives."
Full review @ www.goodreads.com/review/show/1750567786

I enjoyed this memoir. To me it was like a collection of short stories as it jumped around a bit. The author shares a lot about her writing process, which is very interesting. She was generously honest in a way that I feel helps people . There is a lot of love shown in this book for her family and her upbringing. There is a great deal about what books and other authors have taught her over time. I am going to read more of her work!

While I'm reading away in PA, most of my family is gathering for a family reunion in KY. Reading Lee Smith's memoir is partially a way for me to be there in spirit. (It's pretty close and my grandma grew up somewhere near Grundy.) Only my second hour of #24in48, but I'm all about it!

Early Reviewer copy from librarything.com! Thanks @AlgonquinBooks

I was stunned by all our lives. We were divorced, we were gay, we were running large companies, we were living alone on an island, we were dealing with cancer, mental illness, aging parents, children who are not growing up as we expected.

Read for book club. As with many collections of essays, they were hit and miss. Some I loved (dime store; On Lou's Porch; and Goodbye to the Sunset Man). Others just ok.

Liked the vignettes from her childhood best.

Happy Mother's Day to me! Now...What to read?

What a delight this was, and it makes me want to read so many of her novels again. The best memoirs are those in which an author not only reveals themselves but compels the reader to get to their own places of recollection and truth. This is a "best memoir."