Welcome to Litsy!

1) Reminding myself that, assuming we're not living in the Matrix, I only know for sure that I have this one life, so it deserves my attention, care, curiosity, and joy.

2) Tagged, although there are several I could name at different points in my life.

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

Should have been called “the anatomy of a treehugger“. This includes a lot of good information about the scientific and environmental importance of trees. Some of the characters are interesting. The writing is stellar. But in the end, it felt more like a very long protest book and less like a timeless work of fiction. Glad I read it and I understand the Pulitzer if only for the writing and scope, but just wasn‘t my cup of tea.

Should have been called “the anatomy of a treehugger“. This includes a lot of good information about the scientific and environmental importance of trees. Some of the characters are interesting. The writing is stellar. But in the end, it felt more like a very long protest book and less like a timeless work of fiction. Glad I read it and I understand the Pulitzer if only for the writing and scope, but just wasn‘t my cup of tea.

#NaturaLitsy

I'm sat under my apple trees in the blazing sun, reading a novel about trees. I have not moved from this spot all day. 🌞

I am intrinsically drawn to stories that connect humans to nature, and I have a deep love for trees and the forest. This story is detailed and I enjoy how the author has structured it. However, there are some parts that are quite tedious and I will need more time and a different headspace to finish this. So for now, I'm putting it on pause so I can read another book or two from my #AuldLangSpine list before the month is up. @pogue @monalyisha

“First there was nothing. Then there was everything.“ #FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

Starting the tagged book off of @pogue's list, and already there are so many good quotes / passages! #auldlangspine @monalyisha

I can‘t yet do a short “favorites” list of books of 2024, but I sure can do a favorites of each month so far!

Here‘s January 2024‘s five-star, shove-into-your-hands, gorgeously-written chunkster of a novel that reached right through to my tree-hugging heart and never let go.

Nature themed books were my sweet spot this year and I have this gem to thank for kicking it all off. 🌳

#bestof2024 #bestofjanuary #fivestarreads

I‘m having a hard time reading this book. I just started it, but I‘m setting it aside for now. It‘s too dark and depressing. I‘m not getting rid of it though. I want to try it again later. Maybe. I‘ve read a lot of past posts and it seems like I‘m in the minority. 🤣

1. There's a lavalier that belonged to my great-grandmother that I technically own but which is with my mom for now. The oldest thing in my possession might be my son's tuba, which was manufactured in 1974, or my mom's wedding rings from 1972.

2. This one is pretty recent. I'm not sure if it will last, but it has the feeling of a timeless book that's also set very much in its time.

@TheSpineView #Two4Tuesday

My #BetterWorldBooks order arrived! #bookhaul

A reread for me and loved it has much as the first time. I grew up in a timber town really ravaged by Weyerhaeuser and other companies. Clearcut watersheds, doused with 2,4 D, unsustainable logging and then the layoffs and unemployment, and all the social ills that come with that. I knew first hand many of the incidents and people that inspired actions and characters in the book. And damn, I just love trees! Such a poetic book.

Gosh. I'm at a loss... so very detailed and engrossing but hurt my brain and my thoughts so very much.
In awe of his capacity to write such am epic story which has deep truths.
On Saturday I'm attending the March for Nature rally. It feels timely.

A favorite. 🤩 #storysettings #forest

Such an amazing book.

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

@Soubhiville Thank you so much for this book. I was leery to pick it up as I did not like a previous Powers book. But this one…FABULOUS. And so goes my next few days. Joy!!!

1. I just started the tagged book so right now it‘s IOWA.
2. I just wrote about this in a letter…..I visited Houston in January and then read Memorial- Bryan Washington …which took place mostly in Houston.

#WondrousWednesday

I‘m a little over halfway through and I can easily say that this one is gonna drop into my top ten of all time. 🏆

September's choice was a big surprise for me. Its definitely not my usual reading material, but I quickly fell in love with the book and enjoyed it immensely.
#12Booksof2023 @Andrew65

#2023readingbracket
This was a fun way to track my best-of books this year. It was often very hard to make choices! My best 3 fiction were The Overstory, Chain-Gang All-Stars, and Fresh Water for Flowers.

It‘s always fun to come up with the yearly best-of list. Here‘s my #best23of2023. The top row are my top 6, with best fiction going to The Overstory and nonfiction being Terry Pratchett: A Life with Footnotes.

I‘m loving seeing all of your lists as well. Do we have any matches?

Quite the tome so proud I made it through. Loved the character setups in the beginning. The way Powers describes each gives all the details you want and need and no unnecessary ones. Fell in love with each of them. The second 2/3 of the book felt a bit draggy but overall v powerful. Def made me start paying hella more attention to the trees in my environment, which alone is a huge bonus.

Maybe one of the best books I‘ve ever read, that will stay with me a long time. I‘ll admit, I didn‘t get every word written in this story. It was very deep, and parts were confusing. The parts I did get made up for it. This author writes like a post. I‘ll never look at trees the same way again. I‘ll certainly think twice before cutting one down. This story was just beautiful! I highly recommend it

Here‘s a puzzle - what is the author taking about when he writes:
“She could tell them about a simple machine needing no fuel and little maintenance, one that steadily sequesters carbon, enriches the soil, cools the ground, scrubs the air, and scales easily to any size. A tech that copied itself and even drops food for free. A device so beautiful it‘s the stuff of poems.”

The Sycamore Gap tree was around 300 years old. Was. Past tense. My tree loving heart is so sad about this. Photo by Stu Meech.

I like this blurb about long term relationships:

“That person in your life‘s passenger seat? Always a hitchhiker, to be dropped off just down the road.”

90/150 I'll be the first to admit this isn't my usual choice of reading, but I'm so glad I gave it a chance because I thought it was amazing! So beautifully written, with wonderful, complex and complicated characters, following their lives I felt sad when the book was done. 5 🌟 read. Highly recommended.
5th book finished for #SummerEndReadathon @TheSpineView 15th book finished for #RushathonExtended @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES @Andrew65

This was lyrical, philosophical, enraging, heartbreaking and illuminating. Ultimately it is about connections. I think it is also a love letter, as well as a warning. I loved it for so many different reasons.

Simply brilliant! So ingenious, informative, heart-breaking

"If we could see what green was doing, we'd never be lonely or bored. If we could understand green, we'd learn how to grow all the food we need in layers three deep, on a third of the ground we need right now, with plants that protected one another from pests and stress. If we knew what green wanted, we wouldn't have to choose between the Earth's interests and ours. They'd be the same!"

Later than usual, but this is my August wrap up. Another great month!

Favorites: The Overstory, Demon Copperhead, Now is Not the Time to Panic, Feed Them Silence, and Bunny.

The past few months have held some great books. I keep thinking, “this might be the best book I read all year.” And then I read another amazing one.

The Overstory is phenomenal. I‘m finding it hard to put into words how much I love it and it‘s message.

There was a time I would have been up in that tree with Maidenhair and Watchman. Or in the trailer cataloging seeds with Patricia.

It‘s so easy to not see the trees, but it might not be now.

Vacation is going well. My feet aren't happy with the amount of walking we have been doing though. Excuse the bad lighting. I hide under a shade umbrella so I don't burst into flame.

I‘ve got so many book club/ buddy reads for August I decided to get an early start on this chunkster. It‘s wonderful so far, but I can tell it‘s going to be a slow paced read. For #NaturaLitsy and a gift from @alysonimagines 🙂🌳

Igor keeping my feet warm this morning. 🩵

I'm only a few chapters into this book and I already adore it.

Did I buy a book because Keanu recommended it? Yes, I absolutely did. (Backstory: The interviewer asked him what books he would recommend as a known lover of literature so he said he was chosing one he read recently.)

Beautiful! A true work of art. In this book there are multiple characters/plots woven together to form an intricate story about trees/nature. An environmental philosophy work of fiction. It looks at how trees work, why we need them, what they mean to us, what horrible things we are doing to them, and who is trying to save them. I enjoyed some of the story arcs more than others but it was amazing. 4 stars.

Catching up on a couple weeks of finished books. This one was my February #Bookspin, and it was epic. I bought this well over a year ago, and it's been hanging out on my bookshelf, looking a little intimidating. I think knowing there were 9 main characters and nearly as many plot lines kept me from diving in, but thank goodness for #Bookspin! It's beautifully done and definitely makes me look at trees in a whole new way. @TheAromaofBooks

Did not know all details & backstory. Powerful intersection between conservation & environmental justice concerns. The Overstory hit close. From a logging town, I became a forest defender fo both for environmental reasons and social reasons--destroyed my town when they logged everything and left, gave us 26% unemployment, and managed to blame it on the spotted owl. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/02/opinion/atlanta-police-center-protests.html

#bookspin

I can't believe I've waited 4 years to read it! Started it yesterday, I'm so excited :)

And this cover is so beautiful! I like it when polish publishers choose their own cover designs

Omg fan-girling out, a Barbara Kingsolver review of Richard Powers “Overstory”

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/09/books/review/overstory-richard-powers.html

Great #bookhaul this Christmas! Merry merry to all of you Littens! 🎄⭐️🎁

A mesmerizing collision of multiple narratives, each all connected to a forest or tree. Powers weaves incredible and sometimes alarming info-metrics into the story, arming the reader with a battalion in favour of our forests and eco-systems. A book that has stayed with me for the years since I last read it. Quite wonderful!

While I agree that we need more books about conservation and climate advocacy, there were such strong underlying themes of racism and indigenous exclusionary behaviour in the book, that I just could not get behind it.

You can watch my video review here, where I discuss the problems I have with The Overstory and why we need to become more vocal about these issues - https://youtu.be/XMlg9Bjuw70

#AlphabetGame #LetterO

Reading this with my aunt. It‘s been on my TBR for a long time so I was happy when she suggested it as our next book group read

The Overstory gives a powerful illustration of the importance of breaking out of our destructive systems as a culture. I only wish it had ended with some resources for readers who want to be involved - so here are a few I know of:
Who Gives a Crap (sustainable toilet paper company)
Forest Stewardship Council (oversight for sustainable paper products)
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (protecting rain forests)

Wow. Left me speechless and moved like nothing I‘ve read in a long while. It was a tough read at times but so very worth the effort.

Individual stories with trees as a central theme. So great writing but I just couldn‘t get into it.

Quite the tome so proud I made it through. Loved the character setups in the beginning. The way Powers describes each gives all the details you want and need and no unnecessary ones. Fell in love with each of them. The second 2/3 of the book felt a bit draggy but overall v powerful. Def made me start paying hella more attention to the trees in my environment, which alone is a huge bonus.

About halfway through. Was reading this aloud to my husband, but he‘s not super into the book. Maybe I‘ll finish it on my own!