How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents | 
pickI just adore Julia Alvarez's writing. This is the story of a family with 4 daughters that immigrates to the United States from the Dominican Republic. The story starts in 1989 and moves backwards in time. The opposition of 2 different cultures, as well as 2 different generations, allowed Alvarez to explore many themes, including the meaning of language, cultural identity, and gender roles. What a great book.
pickI picked this book up at a used bookstore on a trip to NM this past spring. I think we were supposed to read it in HS? I didn‘t remember it. Anyway. It recently was challenged at a Tillamook HS and has been removed from the curriculum so I bumped it to the top of my list. It was phenomenal.
pickSietje had to have a broken tooth pulled yesterday, so last night was dedicated to babying her. She‘s doing fine, but her pain meds make her a little groggy.
This is my second by Alvarez, and it was pretty good. Vignettes about the four Garcia sisters and their parents, both in the Dominican Republic and after moving to the US. Some of the stories were really funny, and I liked this family.
Short story and vignettes aren‘t my favorite, low 👍.
so-soI enjoyed listening to this via #audiobook , but I can't say I retained very much of it. I really enjoyed the relationships throughout the story, though that's pretty much all I remember.
I'm going to try to catch up on posting all my August reads.
Got some beach reading in today on Catalina Island 😎
Luckily came prepared for a long wait at the vet
so-soNot great. I didn‘t understand why it was moving backwards until the second to last chapter.
They can‘t all be winners.
pickLyrical, heartbreaking novel-in-stories about four sisters from the Dominican Republic who flee to the U.S. in 1960 for their family‘s safety. The story is told in reverse chronological order, which was interesting. Alvarez tackles a lot in this brief book, including immigration, family duty, feminism, classism, and mental illness. I definitely want to read more of her books. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
pickI found the backwards structure of this a bit odd at first but once I got used to it I loved it. The writing was so clear and simple but everything was perfectly put. It reminded me of the virgin suicides at a lot of points, and though I did wish for more psychological details of the sisters sometimes I appreciated how dreamlike the uncertainty made it.
Excited to start this one.
pickBetter than anything Junot Díaz ever wrote. Looking forward to Time of Butterflies.
My boyfriend‘s Christmas gift to me involved two books he brought back from his business trip to New York, he dropped into Strand Books for me 🥰 probably by fave bookshop tho I‘ve only managed to go a handful of times. I always love American paperbacks so much, not sure why I just find them prettier and more exciting than British editions. Feeling very happy and lucky right now!
pickI love that as a “coming of age” novel, it doesn‘t follow the typical structure. I love hearing the story is told through various voices and that it begins at the end! I would recommend others to check it out if you‘re interested in something a bit different!
I'm almost halfway through but I have to finish this by Wednesday at lunch for the Diversity & Inclusion book club at work.
pickOne step closer to completing the Litsy Reading Challenge. This one for "Girl(s) in the title." Only four left. ☺️
This was my first novel by Alvarez. I liked it. It took some adjusting. At first, it seemed random, disjointed. But I came to appreciate how the individual events (some major, some minor) came together to help us understand "the girls" and how they understand themselves.
so-soFirst book of #24in48 complete! ✅ I think I was expecting more out of a book with so much general praise but the reverse chronological structure was a fabulous way to illustrate the lives of the four sisters.
Not where I should be time-wise in the #readathon but I knew I had work all weekend so not much I can do haha. Now for a change in medium and to finally get to a comic that's been on my shelf for about 2 years 💥
Despite having to work both days this weekend I still signed up for the #24in48 readathon 🤷♀️ Thankfully I can read ebooks while I work the front desk!
This stack (if it even qualifies lol) is not nearly as impressive as many others but these are the two books I'm hoping to make serious progress in, if not finish this weekend! I haven't even come close to 24 in the past so we'll see how this goes 😜⏱📚
One of my favorite #multiethnic books. Everything by Julia Alvarez is amazing! #junebookbugs
Match made in heaven: DQ pecan cluster blizzard and a good book. Parts of this book remind me of my own teenage years and all the frustrations that came with them. Almost TOO relatable. 😪
This is the most recent book I've read that counts for the #immigrantsong prompt for #RockinMay! I need two books with immigration as a major theme, though, so I'm definitely following this hashtag to find some great suggestions 😜Kitty is NOT impressed, btw.
Look at her calf #muscles ! #AprilBookShowers
"At that hour and in that loneliness, I hear her, a black furred thing lurking in the corners of my life, her magenta mouth opening, wailing over some violation that lies at the center of my art." #marchintoreading #bestlastsentences
March Book Club choice. I'm having a tough time getting pulled in...
When I first moved to San Francisco I wasn't sure I had made the right decision. I really missed my friends and didn't know if the city was for me. One of my first nights here (my brain keeps saying first night but that seems too perfect) my sister took me to dinner and we randomly went into the bookstore next door where this happened. That helped me decide that this city was for me. #latinx #feistyfeb
#LitsyAtoZ Part 3: Books published from 1991-2017 alphabetized by author. I don't own most of these, so I'm relying on the library. Also, the book from 2017 is a bonus that just happens to come out on my 26th birthday.
Julia Alvarez is one of my favorite writers and this is the first book I read by her so it's my pick for #publishedinthe90s
