Welcome to Litsy!

BUSY day yesterday but I made time to open my #LittleChristmasSwap just before bed. @CSeydel ~ I am thrilled with used books. I always add my books to my Little Free Library after reading them. The chocolates 🍫, though, won‘t be shared. @bookish_wookish Thank you for a great swap to cap my holidays!

A fictional take on the life of Hedy Lamarr, born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler, up to the WWII. As a young woman, Hedy stars in a play onstage & gains an admirer. He is a powerful Austrian arms dealer, & may be the key to allowing her & her family to evade Nazi persecution despite their Jewish heritage. Her husband turns out to be controlling & jealous & when Hedy overhears the Third Reich's plans at a dinner party one night, she decides to flee.

An interesting read of historical fiction. There was a bit of repetitiveness with the guilt, but the plot seemed to closely mirror the real life of Hedy Lamarr. I enjoyed the second half of the book better than the first, perhaps due to Hedy's maturing. At the start of the novel she was only nineteen!

Hedy Lamar‘s story. Quite an incredible lady.

If you're familiar with the books of MB, you'll know what to expect: a strong female character emerging from the shadows of history and making an impression on the world. This one's about Hedy Lamarr, a beautiful Austrian lady who made a difference not only with her famous movies but also with something less expected.
#LitsyLoveReads

#NewYearNewBooks #WomenInScience

Hedy Lamarr a real scientist, not just playing one on the silver screen 😉

Such a great read about an actual story - I felt like I was in the Sound of Music for the first part with Austria before the Anschluss. Beautifully written!

I've always been fascinated with Hedy Lamarr

Really enjoyed this historical fiction novel about Hedy Lamarr . Women just never get credit for their brilliant minds. It would be interesting if we could rewrite history to include all of the women‘s contributions!

I did not like the ending of this book. It seemed rather abrupt. Also, I looked to see how much of this story is true. Hedy actually sent her “adopted” son to boarding school at the age of 11, and never spoke to him again. She also left him out of her will. The adopted son may actually be her real son.

Didn‘t realize until after completing the book that this was a biography. Kudos to this amazing lady ~ talented, brilliant, beautiful and strong!! Excellent story ~~ interesting to learn about Hedy Lamarr. In places, the writing was a bit repetitive & lack-luster. Fascinating that Hedy‘s invention was turned down by the navy basically because she was a woman; yet it was basis for wi-fi, cell phones & numerous other technologies ~~ Crazy!!

Oh my gosh this deal is crazy. Four ebooks on sale today.

Finished on this hot summer evening. What an amazing story. I knew a little about the life of Hedy Lamarr, but learned even more by reading this. She led an incredible life, and while this is one small part of that life, it made a huge impact on the world. If you are at all interested in her, World War II, or feminism, I would absolutely recommend. Writing was a bit meh for me, but the story alone carries it. #bookspin for July

Starting my #bookspin today and loving the inner cover!

I‘m starting something new. My physical bookshelves are overflowing and I want to Marie Kondo them a bit.
So, I‘m posting a book a day of my “maybes” and I hope you can help me decide.
Have you read this book? Should I? ❤️ or a hard pass? Is it on your wish list? Let me know below.
This is a is going to be fun.
#abookaday #votedofftheisland #Day1

This novelization of the life of Hedy Lamarr during World War II reveals the amaxing lufe of this complex woman. It's a thriller about escaping the Nazis and a glamourous trip through the Hollywood of the late 30s and early 40s. What a story!

The true story behind this is very interesting. I'm not the biggest fan of her writing style.

Wow, that was riveting and powerful. Even though it‘s a ‘fictional‘ account of Hedy Lamarr, it is all based on her real life. Great Author‘s Note at the end, too, from Marie Benedict, to drive home the fact that the actress‘ intelligence, ingenuity, and passion were stifled by military and scientific men because they didn‘t believe that a pretty woman could also contribute to the military and scientific community. She‘s truly a Renaissance woman!!

Somehow this book managed to make the life of Hedy Lamarr—a Jewish woman who escaped from an abusive marriage during Nazi-occupied Austria and became a Hollywood legend who also invented and holds a patent on a spread-spectrum technology that became the foundation for our modern cell phones— actually boring. This has inspired me to read a nonfiction book about Lamarr. It hasn‘t inspired me to read anything else by this author.

One of the most beautiful women ever to grace the silver screen, Hedy Lamarr also designed a secret weapon against Nazi Germany.

Playing catch-up!

📕The Only Woman in the Room
🖊 Nnedi Okorafor
📺 The Office 💚
🎤 One Republic 🤷🏻‍♀️
🎶 On Top of the World - Imagine Dragons

#ManicMonday #LetterO

@Karisa @Lauranahe @kellyann28
Finished this book tonight! I loved this last round of #lmpbc with you all! I‘ll have this out in the mail tomorrow 🌺

I knew nothing about Hedy Lamarr before reading the book description, but I was fascinated to learn of her life story in this novel. It's a great entry point into her history, but I wish it dove deeper. It reads slowly, but I liked the build-up to her escape from her abusive husband, all the while absorbing as much info as she could about the Third Reich. But I wish Benedict expanded the story to include more of Hedy's scientific accomplishments.

Received! #lmpbc @kellyann28 @Karisa @Lauranahe

I am sad to say this book was not for me! I admittedly knew nothing about Hedy Lemarr before this book so it was interesting to learn about what she did in relation to helping in WWII. The rest of it felt like a forced story that was filled in around historical information.

This will be shipped off to you tomorrow @TheBookKeepers ! #LMPBC @Karisa @Lauranahe

At the beginning of the year, I set a goal to read 52 books in 52 weeks! This is book number 20 of the year! I‘m slightly ahead of schedule!

@Lauranahe Got it in this weekend! Thanks again for the goodies! My husband saw it on the counter and said "Where did this come from?!" Sorry, not yours, buddy! ? #LMPBC
@Karisa @TheBookKeepers

It could be a case of wrong book at the wrong time but I didn‘t love this. I just never quite clicked with the character or the story which is a shame because in general I think Hedy Lamarr‘s story is a rather fascinating one. I do recommend the documentary “Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story” though (not to be confused with Bombshell with Charlize Theron).

I loved this book. Hedy Keisler was an actress, a woman who fled her husband and Austria in the 1930s. In Hollywood she became Hedy Lamarr, a movie star and icon. But she also was scientific -minded, and her invention changed the future of communication.

This was a nice easy read. A lot of the reviews I read said they were disappointed because most of the book was about her early years being married to her first husband. But I feel like you needed a lot of background information from that time of her life to fully understand why she chose the route she did to achieve what she did in her life. It was such an intriguing read I found myself researching about the real Hedy Lemarr. What a great novel.

#LMPBC box headed your way @Lauranahe 💗 Go Group G! ⭐

@kellyann28 @The.Bookkeepers @suvata

Figured I‘d put up my #FebruaryWrapUp now. I won‘t get to finish another book this month.

Read 3 books for #BlackHistoryMonth
Finished 1 nonfiction book
Crossed off 1 country for #ReadingEurope2020

Still haven‘t read a classic book for #classicschallenge2020

Favorite Reads: Bad Blood, The Secret of Chimneys and The Only Woman in the Room
Least Favorite Read: Echoes Among the Stones

@kellyann @TheBookKeepers @Lauranahe

Historical fiction with beauty and brains. . . Sure hope we all like it! Such pressure to choose well for Group G #LMPBC 😊

#BookReport - Finished 4 books. They were all good or okay but the tagged book was my favorite read this week.

In progress - 1 NF, a mystery and an Agatha Christie (currently on audio but I‘ve requested the print version from my library)

Up Next - My 2 library holds to finish up Black History Month and a sci-fi New release I‘ve requested from the library

#WeeklyForecast

Well read this book in a day. I absolutely love Marie Benedict. I‘ve read 3 of her books and have loved all of them. I love how she brings an unknown women in history to life. This one is about Hedy Lamarr, her early life in Austria and her escaping her husband (Arms dealer working for the Nazis) and moving to Hollywood and becoming a movie star.

#Booked2020 - Set In Hollywood (Part 2)
#ReadingEurope2020 - Set in Austria (Part 1)

Hedy Lamarr was an actress and inventor (you go girl!) who was married to a wealthy Austrian weapons maker during the time that Hitler was in power, which meant she knew a lot of inside info about political happenings during that time.

I love how Benedict takes women in history and elevates their stories thru fiction!! I “liked” this one where I “loved” The Other Einstein. Hedy‘s invention is crazy good!! A strong woman with a fascinating life.

My book club‘s January selection. I started it early this morning before my family woke up ☕️

#currentlyreading

This was an interesting and informative book about Hedy Lamarr and her contributions on screen and her secret life as an inventor. I learned so much! 5 stars because I will be thinking about how her inventions impact us today and about how she was not able to fully come into her own as an inventor due to gender discrimination for a long time.

Passing on this one for now. Just getting out of the hugest book slump of my life, and I‘m just not getting into it. Maybe I‘ll be in a better frame of mind for it at another time.

From my TBR pile. I wasn‘t sure if I would enjoy this book - I‘m not usually a Hollywood figure fan. However, this book was a pleasant surprise. It was a very interesting fictionalized version of the life of Hedy Lamar and how she tried to assist in the US effort during WW 2. It was also interesting to learn about the influence of her work on today‘s technology. 🌟🌟🌟 1/2. #wintergames. #thefilthyanimals

1. Reading as much of tagged book as possible before it‘s returned to the library.

2. Not really, sadly.

Bk10 of this weeks #LibraryHaul is another #NFNov pick. This is about the actress Hedy Lamarr, who was a lot more than just a pretty face. In 1937, Hedy Kiesler is desperate for a way out of Vienna, with her Jewish heritage it‘s only a matter of time before the Nazis realise who she is. But she‘s been listening at all those parties at her husbands castle, she has a few secrets that may help her new country. Including the fact she‘s a scientist.

So far I'm enjoying reading about Hedy and her early life. Don't care much for her husband but what can you do 🤷🏽‍♀️

Next talk - standing room only about historical fiction between Marie Benedict (The Only Woman in the Room, about Hedy Lamarr, aka the book that kept me up til 3 am reading) and Whitney Scharer (The Age of Light). #morristownfestivalofbooks #mfob #mfob2019 #bookfestival #authortalk #historicalfiction

Hedy Lamar iat the age of 19 marries an arms dealer with incredible influence in WW2 politics in Austria. She is pulled into a life of power and control. As a Jewish woman, she must escape Austria and this life. The story continues through her film career in the US and her work on an invention to hopefully help the war effort. A so-so because the writing style didn‘t click with me and it felt dry for such an interesting story.