Welcome to Litsy!

A good fictional thriller story of survival in a snowy and snowed-in aboriginal community. Really great narration in this audiobook listen. ❄️

My next Scribd app audiobook is Moon of the Crusted Snow. — On to Ch.5, and enjoying the listen. ❄️ Gladly the snowfalls haven‘t been as much, since the previous weeks in Ontario; now getting into this snowed-in story.

Another book that leaves me on the fence, Moon of the Crusted Snow is a slow burn post-apocalyptic novel. There‘s quiet menace and a great building of tension, but it all fell a little flat for me. I appreciated the hopeful, if still sad, tone at the end, but I‘m clearly not ready for apocalypse fiction. Pandemic panic is still too raw. #canada for both #booked2022 and #readingtheamericas2023

Just as good as I‘d hoped it would be. Rice expertly builds the tension. Once I started I didn‘t want to stop. Makes for a perfect snowy day read (preferably next to a crackling fire). It‘s a short one, but raises some interesting questions about human/community survival in the face of societal collapse. Some striking nature writing as well.

“A crack echoed through the boreal landscape, a momentary chaos in the still afternoon air.”

#FirstLineFridays

A surprisingly non- horrific apocalypse tale, set on a fictional Anishinaabe reservation in northern Ontario. The apocalyptic event takes place off-stage - so far off-stage that nobody notices until many days later when people start showing up, looking for refuge. There's some violence, but not nearly as much as you'd expect, and the focus is on traditional skills and traditional ways of living, while trying to survive the Ontario Winter 🥶

Because who doesn‘t love a post- apocalyptic tale for the holidays?
Working on another gift

#Audiocrafting #litsycrafters

An apocalyptic novel set in a fictional First Nations territory (though based on Indigenous stories that the author heard/knows). It‘s slow, but if you can settle in and feel the impact of the story, it is haunting. Although it‘s a very small part of the book, I enjoyed the bits about the title!

Audioworking on a Saturday. Better than working on a Saturday. (It‘s the little things, right)

This was a chilling beautiful thrill of a read. Reading this in the thick of winter only adds to the creepy vibe that builds. Not completely unpredictable, but a most satisfying read. Also happy to hear there is a sequel!

A native reservation experiences a collapse of the world they've come to know, leading to there being more of a need than ever for their community to band together. Until some visitors threaten to upend the tenuous hold on order they've achieved. I liked it a lot and always appreciate learning more about indigenous communities and their culture. I just wish that the climax had been a bit more fleshed out. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I flew to Raleigh for the weekend to hang out with my grandparents (this year I'm determined to squeeze in as much family time as I can!) and while my grandma is doing her Bible study, this is my current cozy reading spot 🔥

I‘m using the #ReadSpooky2022 challenge hosted by the lovely @teebe to work through my horror TBR on non-October months. For January I chose this book recently gifted to me in a swap by @MeganAnn . It‘s a great creepy read for winter. I loved the atmospheric tone. I did wish the author delved deeper into the characters and their relationships. I felt like a lot of it was very surface-level. But, I hear there‘s a sequel in the works!

This was one of the first books recommended to me on Litsy. Keeper‘n Me by Richard Wagamese was one of my favourite books last year, and I have been wanting to read more books by indigenous authors.

#currentlyreading #blameitonlitsy #Canada

I liked this but didn‘t love it. Life is beautiful and it doesn‘t stop. You can‘t eliminate it, though some try.

Literary thriller about a Native American reservation during the end of the world. I liked the concept of the book but it didn‘t feel fully developed at times and was a bit predictable. The story jumped around and the characters felt a bit underdeveloped, but it held my attention and I enjoyed reading about some of the culture on the reservation, based on the authors own life experiences.

Oh my goodness @MeganAnn you‘ve blown me away! The gifts are so perfect and thoughtful. The tagged book is right up my alley. The candle and bath salts smell lovely and I‘m SO excited for the spell kit! The ornaments are already up on my tree, I‘ll post pics. Thank you so so much! And thank you to the magnificent @Chrissyreadit and @sprainedbrain for hosting! Happy Yule! #WinterSolsticeSwap #WSS

Finished another one for #IndigAThon.

Both take place in an isolated environment while an unknown apocalypse rages on, explore the psychological effects of that situation, and have a slow, tense, suspenseful tone.

#Movie2BookRecs Oct 21 #LetterC day 27: Cloverfield @Klou

This post-apocalyptic #clifi by a Native author is in my tbr and I‘ve been eyeing it for a while. Should I move it up the list? Pic from a portion of the cover art.

#roaringwolf moon in the title
@Littlewolf1 @Roary47

This story shimmered with a subtle aura of menace that made even the most innocent actions seem ominous, culminating in a single act of stark horror, illuminated by the similarly barren surroundings. Especially poignant to read mid-pandemic, as a community experiences a disastrous emergency, and begins to crumble as it tries to weather the storm. Vivid characters and deft language build a truly unforgettable tale of survival.
#indigenousreads

I feel like the current heat is a great time to read about a dark and haunted winter…
#indigenousreads #spooky

This has been on my TBR for a while, so I was excited to see it as a suggestion for Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge for task #5: A Genre Novel by an FNMI Author. It was really good and I'm so glad I read it, although reading dystopic books during a pandemic is always a bit tricky.

I found a brand new once monthly podcast that will be focusing on indigenous books (I think North American and primarily Canadian, though I don‘t know), and Waubgeshig Rice is a co-host. He mentions in the inaugural episode that he is currently writing a sequel to the tagged book, hopefully for publication in 2022! 🥳🎉 I‘m super excited about the book and look forward to hearing more of this podcast.

Overindulging in chocolate and reading while my partner does the groceries 😌 best Valentine's day ever.

Happy ❤ day, romantic or otherwise!

There was such dread woven into this but the build up more subtle than I would have expected.

This is the kind of novel you use the word ‘haunting‘ to describe without it ever meaning something supernatural.

I love that the world is falling apart but you only see how it directly effects this Anishinaabe community instead of the world as a whole. The focus is a pinprick even though it‘s a wave of the residual aftermath happening elsewhere.

Tense and Disturbing at points, but beautifully written. Very atmospheric.

“Nicole lay awake in the warm, uneasy darkness”. I know this one has us mixed reviews but I am really enjoying it so far.

And a happy new year!
Probably won‘t get to finish it for 2020, but started this audiobook yesterday...very hyped but two chapters are not giving me joy...yet!
My fabulous book-listening-walking ensemble for Sacramento, USA winter.

A good post-apocalyptic novel that focuses more on the aftermath than on the actual apocalypse mechanism.
#ShutdownReadathon book 1

Just started this one this morning. Apocalypse reaches Canada‘s Anishinaabe community.

One gets a good insight into the modern way of life of the American Natives. I also enjoyed reading the words in their native language - si fascinating and strange to me.

Sadly, the story itself didn't drew me in at all. It lacked depth and atmosphere, even though the premises were given.

@TheAromaofBooks #BookSpinBingo

The slow build up in this slim novel is excellent. It creates so much tension and allows the characters to breath. First Nation history and politics is woven brilliantly through this sparse story of the apocalypse that leaves your imagination to fill in so many details. Loved it! @BookNAround thank you ♥️

I‘m only a few chapters in and boy it‘s tense! The background feeling of menace is so well done!

I‘ve been waiting for a suitably cold day to dive into this - today‘s the day 🥳

This was an excellent read. I liked it better than Leave the World Behind. I enjoyed learning about the culture and language. Highly recommend. One of the best reads for this year. 5 ⭐️ Read for 4 readathons and it is tbr book. 176 pts #teamreadnosedreindeer #wintergames2020 @StayCurious

Total 500

Books in green are this month's five star reads.

Books Read: 35

audiobook: 7
eBook: 18
print: 10

library: 9
review: 23
personal: 3

Around the World: 8
Book Clubs: 2
Booker Prize: 1
Graphic novel: 1
Indigenous: 3
Memoir: 5
Middle East: 3
Non-fiction November: 11
Poetry
Read the World: 3
Sci-fi/fantasy: 3
Tournament of Books: 6 (wow!)

Listened to this on #audiobook as my Thanksgiving Native #ownvoices read. Weirdly, I‘m finding apocalyptic novels to be enjoyable during the pandemic and the added layer of life in a Rez knocks this one out of the park.

It feels weird to say I enjoyed a novel about apocalypse and disaster, but I really did! I'd been circling this one for a while and didn't get to it in my year of focusing on Canada, so it got back burnered a bit. It tells the story of an Anishinaabe community (in what could also be northern Ontario), already pretty isolated, and what happens when the power goes out. ↘️

Overall, I did really enjoy this one, but the pacing didn‘t work for me in some sections. The late reveal was super powerful and fun.

Yes I‘m basically only reading post apocalyptic novels this year and no it‘s not making me extremely stressed out. I feel fine I swear. 😬

I hate to disparage any book . . . But aside from the unusual setting exploring the Ashininaabe culture, this book doesn‘t have anything else going for it 😬

What a thrilling, fascinating book! A kind of literary thriller / dystopian / horror novel with wonderful writing and authentic, human characters. It follows a post-apocalyptic Northern Anishinaabe reservation community. The focus is on their survival, leaning back into old ways of living off the land, and dealing with a white guy (what a villain!) who shows up wanting to join them. Quite suspenseful, and occasionally downright chilling!

Don't you love it when you start a new book and immediately fall right into the story?
#Indigenous #NativeReads #AwesomeAudiobooks

My Reading Wrap Up for August.

I had quite a few Favorites:
Moon of the Crusted Snow
Wow, No Thank You
Clap When You Land
The City We Became
The Dreamers
The Pull of the Stars

I bailed on Miracle Country.

I hope September is just as good!

I really liked this very short novel about an indigenous village in Canada dealing with the end of civilization as we know it.

I enjoyed Rice‘s writing style. Growing up in the North (Vermont- my husband always says I‘m “practically Canadian” 🤣), the prose felt like talking to my family that still lives up there.

He also really put me there in the chill of winter, snow piling up to the window sills, wind howling, thankful for the wood stove.