Welcome to Litsy!

My library‘s book club pick for August—I‘ll lead the meeting tomorrow. This is a heavy-handed novel to create empathy in readers (southerners in particular) who may be against gay marriage. The story is fine, and the characters were nicely written but most of them were a mouthpiece for the agenda. Of course I 100% support gay marriage and I love that this book exists but I don‘t enjoy being preached to while reading, even if I love the message.

Heading to the Gulf Coast next week, expecting to see more of these. #Sunset Just finished my first Silas House, and now I want to read everything he's written. #LuckyInLove @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Decided to go through my Litsy TBR to find a #NewYearNewBooks #TitleBeginsWithS. Yikes! Pic above is my list before I gave up trying to get through it all. Thankfully, I have reviews from #Littens to narrow the field. Though #Litten reviews is how my #tbr got so long in the first place. 😀 📚 🤩 Starting with tagged book from Libby. @eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

#UnpopularOpinion While I agree that God is in everything this book felt so PREACHY & heavy handed. I found the characters cliche/ one dimensional caricatures and I really didn‘t connect emotionally to either Asher, a southern town preacher or his young son Justin. I also found the narrator‘s voice SO GRATING. Almost everyone else on Litsy LOVED this so it‘s probably more me than the book/ story🤷🏼‍♀️

This is one of the best books I‘ve read this year! It‘s the story of an evangelical preacher in Tennessee who has a change of heart and doesn‘t expel two gay men from his church. A video of him expressing these feelings to his congregation goes viral, and while he receives much support elsewhere, it costs him very dearly near home. It felt so real to me as a person living in a town in the South. He doesn‘t shy away from complications of life here.

The premise is what drew me in and the writing kept me. However, the so-so rating is for the problematic decision the protagonist makes regarding his son and dominates the ending. It seemed incongruent with his character and unrelated to the central theme.

The notion divinity is in everything has always been appealing to me. ☺️

Asher, a Pentecostal preacher, helps a stranger save lives when floods devastate his rural Tennessee town. When the man (and his boyfriend) attempt to attend church services, Asher finds himself torn between his own evolving views and the convictions of his congregation, including his wife. Asher must decide how far he's willing to go to find forgiveness and to show his son a different view of the world. A thoughtful story of faith and fatherhood.

I loved this so much. It made me sad, it exhilarated me, it broke my heart. It reads almost like two separate stories-the first about judgment and the (sometimes) consequences of taking a stand for what is right, the second about the love a father has for his son and how far he will go to show that love. I was deeply moved while I was reading. Loved the nature, loved the found family. I couldn‘t put the book down, read it straight thru in one day.

This is sweet tale about judgement, courage, and reevaluation of one's life and beliefs, even if the plot does meander just a bit.

This book is about #heartbreak … but also hope.

If your edition contains the author‘s note, be sure to read it.

#ithadtobeyou

It hasn‘t been quite the reading and chill week I was expecting, but I‘m up-to-date with Persuasion and have read a few more chapters of Southernmost. Meanwhile, however, Libby reminded me that someone is waiting for the mystery book club‘s selection for the month that I haven‘t started yet. It‘s most likely another book club member, so I‘m making a quick pivot to finish that instead this week.
#LitsySummerCampReadathon

The #modernmrsdarcy portion of the #readathon mashup was successful. I read a bonus book and finished this month‘s book for #lmpbc so I could put it in the mail today. Now I‘m in the mood for another Key West book, even though it‘s a book club selection but not until February.

Seems a lot of people love this book, but I found it just okay. Sounded right up my alley, and I liked the premise, but the execution was very mediocre.

I don‘t know why I waited so long to read this. It will break your heart and make you cry, but yet it is full of hope and goodness and love. A man comes to terms with how his actions and beliefs have hurt others (and himself) and he is desperate to keep that from happening to his gentle young son. Highly recommend. #keyWest #Episcopal #lgbtq

Another signed volume from the 2018 Bookmarks Festival.

1. Tagged
2. Green or purple
3. Baking
4. 💚💚💚
#friYAYintro @4thhouseontheleft @howjessreads

Loved this. Preacher from rural middle Tennessee loses his job and marriage when he vocally supports LGBT rights. When he‘s faced with losing custody of his son, they flee to Key West to find his estranged older brother. Rich in symbolism and beautiful explorations of faith, family, and morality.

Wow. So good. I couldn't put it down for wanting to know what happened. Such great characters, all of them.

⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"I never feel more in the presence of complete goodness then when I am with a dog." - Silas House, in an interview about his book Southernmost

Fundamentalist minister Asher is struggling with what he has always believed to be true about homosexuality but when this struggle threatens what he cares about most, his relationship with his young son, he takes the boy and flees to Florida. The physical journey mirrors Asher‘s internal journey and evolving faith in this thoughtful, well-written novel. Full review at https://booknaround.blogspot.com/2019/10/review-southernmost-by-silas-house.html

A Southern preacher has an epiphany about his thinking on LGBT people and absconds to Key West with his 9 year old son following the collapse of his marriage. I loved this heartfelt story of fathers and sons and the family we make for ourselves. Bonus points for the Key West setting and the uniquely quirky inhabitants of my favorite vacation spot. 4🌟.

We have houseguests for the holiday. I‘m hiding. 🤫

Loved seeing Silas House, one of my favorite authors, on tour for the paperback release of Southernmost. 💚💙🧡❤️ (Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Lexington, Kentucky)

Going to start my first #14books14weeks. I‘ve read two already but they weren‘t in my original list so I‘m thinking they don‘t count. 😜

1. Tagged book.
2. 🐙
3. 😂😳😡
#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

The raw emotion that permeates this novel is stellar. These characters live in such a real way and discover themselves as they travel through the story. Silas House is visiting my university in a couple weeks for the annual literary festival and I can‘t wait to hear him read!

4.5⭐️. This is a powerful story about the love between father & son, how our faith & belief can change & expand and about the hard choices we make because of love. Wonderfully written.

I‘m so grateful for Silas House and his amazing works of art. His writing is beautiful and his stories evoke so much emotion. Southernmost will stay with me for a long time. 🥰

The last panel of my day at the Kentucky Book Fair was Silas House in conversation with Kayla Rae Whitaker. I‘ve loved Silas‘s work for a long time and was thrilled to hear their discussion of Appalachia and being Kentucky writers. Such incredible, open-minded people. 💜

Well I just read that in one go.. the beautiful descriptive writing, setting,characters and complex emotions kept me turning the page. A wonderful tale of love, acceptance and transformation. 💙💚💛🧡💜

Was lucky enough to win this novel from @AlgonquinBooks I‘ve been reading raves everywhere,

Packing light for a trip to South Florida to see my BROTHER and ignore him in bars and read #swamplandia #southernmost

This riveting, thought-provoking novel that explores religious faith, prejudice, friendship, and fatherhood is fitting reading/listening for a heat wave weekend.

“The heat was thick as curtains. Night was fixing to slide over the world and the cicadas were calming down for that hushed time between daylight and darkness, when crickets rosined their bows.”

Silas House has written another beautiful story filled with complex characters and rich description that immediately transports you to the South. If you love music, you‘ll love House‘s references sprinkled throughout.

Looking forward to digging into this one. Just picked it up from Malaprop's in Asheville.

Camping out in my reading spot. #schoolsoutforsummer 🍷

I received this on #netgalley in exchange for my review. A disgraced evangelical preacher finds his religion and community too angry and judgmental. After a divorce, he kidnaps his son and goes to Key West where he hopes to find his estranged brother. These huge transformations happen quickly without much exploration of the cause. Overall, I found the themes, development, characters and the writing to be overly simplistic and sentimental. 2.5⭐️

Sweet and beautifully written.

I just finished the e-galley of Southernmost. I started it a few months ago during all of the flooding and I had to stop as it was too difficult and real to read during that time as it starts off with an awful flood. I just picked it up again a few days ago, and it continues on to be a story about a pastor who realizes that the church's beliefs on gay marriage aren't right. He's exiled when he speaks up about it and loses custody of his son. 👇🏼