Welcome to Litsy!

A reread of the book that prompted my visit to Iceland in 2017. A truly magical place. This books tells the story of the last execution in Iceland. It has taken on new meaning for me after finishing her latest book Always Home , Always Homesick. Both wonderful reads. I don‘t keep many books these days but these books are definitely keepers.

Really enjoyed the writing on this one. I became so invested in Agnes‘ story and felt everything with her. Sad it had to come to an end #pick #burialrites

My #Roll100 is another short story collection that includes another Sookie Stackhouse story. My #DoubleSpin is my June #FoodandLit pick (oops 🤷🏻‍♀️).

I updated all the books on this list that I have finished, and, well, if this was baseball, my 0.357 batting average would be considered excellent. Book reading is measured the same as baseball stats, right?

My dinner tonight is very multi-cultural: Tuscan Vegetables, Cajun Potatoes, and, for #FoodandLit - baked Icelandic Cod.
I wish I could tell you that the fish was the best part of this meal, but that would be as much of a lie as if I told you I was anywhere close to finishing my June book selection. 🫣

I really enjoyed this book. It's an emotional roller coaster and it been a while since a story made me as annoyed and frustrated in so many different ways.
I'm so glad the world has progressed for women in so many ways, but small minded people continue to wreak havoc for many.

Not me maxing out my Kindle Unlimited loans in the first two weeks of having it. 😅 I better get reading.

Here‘s every book on my Kindle Library right now: https://wildwoodreads.com/2024/01/24/books-in-my-kindle-library/

I thought his book was fine. I don‘t really have any complaints, but for some reason it just never fully grabbed me.

????
A dark and haunting story of the Icelandic convict Agnes Magnúsdóttir. A woman convicted in the 1800s of murdering 2 men along with 2 others in a joint conspiracy.

These Nordic books are definitely something in atmosphere and buildup. This one is based on the true story of Agnes. Told with compassion and ♥️.

3.5 ⭐Soft pick. I can see why others love this. It was a bit too slow for me. It was very interesting that this is based on true events.

The end dragged to the point that I was getting distracted by anything else. I split between the physical and audio. The audio was nice due to the icelandic names. But the time was so quiet i would only recommend if you need a calm book for anxiety and to go to sleep.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was the fictionalized story of the real life Agnes Magnúsdóttir, the last person executed in Iceland in 1830.
Kent‘s writing is 5 star - it is so well told & clearly well researched.
I would definitely read more from her in the future.

@TheAromaofBooks this was my June #bookspin book!

They said I must die.

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

Based on a true story - Agnes Magnúsdóttir is charged with murder and forced to live on a farm in Northern Iceland while she awaits her execution. It is a slow-paced, atmospherically written and the perfect book to read in the winter. There are a lot characters throughout the book so it isn't an easy book to put down for a while and pick back up. Reading the Q&A with the author at the end of book really shows you where her writing style came from.

We went from winter to false summer overnight. So I took advantage of the weather and got some reading in. We will start spring weather this week. Trying to get out of what seems to be an annual reading slump in March/April. Such a beautiful day for reading.

Inspired by @ShyBookOwl I've decided to munch on some popcorn while I start the tagged book. You don't find too many fiction books based in Iceland so I'm quite excited to dig into this one.

#PopcornAndBook #Iceland

January Reviews

This is another that has been on my TBR for years and was my #Doublespin for January. This is the fictionalized story of Agnes Magnúsdóttir, the last person to be executed in Iceland. While she awaits execution, Agnes is sent to live with a minor district official and his family. We get Agnes own story and the views of the family and her visiting minister. The story moves slowly and there is no happy ending, but it‘s so good.

A historical fiction about the last woman to be executed in Iceland in the 1800s. I love how it humanizes her, showing that there‘s more to her story than “murderer.” The Icelandic setting is deliciously moody. But I think I have to give this a so-so for the pacing. Most of the book feels pretty mellow and moody, and then the last 50 pages everything breaks apart and it‘s so heavy and so dark. Good book, just needs to give more a bit earlier.

This is not what you'd call a cheery or uplifting read. It is, however, beautifully written. Kent skillfully creates an authentic sense of time & place - the bleakness, the cold, the poverty of 19th century rural Iceland all powerfully evoked. Agnes is also an intriguing character, your empathy for her building the more pages you turn. I love the way the bureaucracy surrounding Agnes' execution is juxtaposed with her raw emotions & her story of ⬇️

It was interesting, but so slow. And I don't do well with stories unfolding at a snail's pace. (definitely a me-problem!)

#WinterReadathon

@Andrew65 @DieAReader

@Martta do you remember sending me this book? I've eventually picked it up and started reading. 🙈

Thank you! So far it's as good as you promised.

#survival #indeliblemoments @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

I would really like to see Burial Rites either as a miniseries or movie. I know that it was optioned as a movie about a decade ago and I haven't heard about its status the last few years, at least not since 2017. #littenswanttoknow

📚 Burial Rites, The Book Thief
🖋 Charlotte Bronte
📺 Bones, The Big Bang Theory
🎤 The Beatles
🎶 Bookends by Simon and Garfunkel

#manicmonday #letterb

A bit behind on the #alphabetgame. Here are some of the most memorable books I‘ve read starting with these letters.

B- Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
C- Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
D- Delicious Foods by James Hannaham

I read this book about 5 or 6 years ago and absolutely loved it; it also helped to listen to the audiobook, especially in regards to the Icelandic pronunciations. #letterb #alphabetgame

#AlphabetGame #LetterB @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

The tagged book was an excellent “B” book.

Tagging anyone who wants to play.

I love historical fiction and the tagged is one of my favorites.

Do you have a favorite B book @thereadingpal @Librarybelle @Eggs ?

#AlphabetGame

#bookmoods #setinanothercentury @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs
An unforgettable book 😘

Haunting, dark, suspenseful. I loved this book and was surprised to discover it‘s based on a real person. Reminded me a lot of The Mercies, how the setting/climate/locale becomes a character in the book. I wish things had turned out differently for Agnes 🙁

1. Burial Rites (I‘m a one print/ebook at a time kinda girl)
2. I enjoy both!
3. Haven‘t finished any recently as I just rejoined Audible - current listens are A Promised Land and The Storyteller.
#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

I thought the premise of this story was interesting but it moved a little slow for me. It was a story about the last year of life of a woman in Iceland who was sentenced to death. She spent her year working for a family in the country and then was eventually beheaded.

Saw Hannah Kent speak today at the Perth Writers Weekend. Due to Covid and our travel restrictions she appeared on-screen from her home in Adelaide. I can see the back of my head and @Rissreads in this photo taken by the program curator. 😂🤣😁

#12Booksof2021

January was filled with lots of good reads but Burial Rites was the only one earning 5 🌟

Join @Andrew65 in posting your favorite book of each month in 2021.

Absolutely beautifully written, highly recommend the audiobook as the pronunciations can be tough and she does a wonderful job narrating.

Marvelous, incredible, beautifully told.

BURIAL RITES is a book that you do not want to miss.

The book's situation and setting, the writing, and the characters are all phenomenal and come alive through the author's exquisite skill. 5/5

Have YOU read it?

FULL REVIEW: https://tinyurl.com/2p8ecj9u

#burialrites
@hannahkentwrites

Whoa. This is a 📕 of historical fiction that‘ll stick to my bones & burrow itself into my brain. At the core of this 📕 is the question: Who do we become when the stories people tell about us overshadow how we see ourselves? It‘s about the authority given to people with unearned resources of power to tell the life stories of those who are marginalized because of circumstances beyond their control. 🙏 to @Alfrazier21 for gifting it to me.

@Alfrazier21 was right. This 📖 is so good. Tonight‘s 🫖: Republic of Tea‘s Chocolate Strawberry with local honey & almond milk sweet cream creamer. Decadent.

@Alfrazier21 Holy, Moly! I feel so spoiled with this #HauntedHollowSwap. This was such a fun package to open. I kept finding goodies (like the tea in the cup!). I‘m so excited to read these books and nosh on all the treats. Thank you for your thoughtfulness of including vegan candy and the creative, festive box. Also, I‘m loving the “more boos please” drink coozie. Thanks for being a wonderful host @wanderinglynn

Any book with a line like this sounds automatically promising 💖

This is one memorable book especially that sad ending, poor Agnes 😭 #death #conflictedworlds @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Beautiful and bleak, gripping and gorgeously written—I was so impressed by this book. Set in 1830s Iceland, it follows a woman convicted of murder and her interactions with the priest who is to prepare her for the next life, and the family with whom she‘s been housed as she waits out her sentence. The reader gradually pieces together what happens as she recalls the lead-up to the fatal night. So glad I read this after having it on my TBR for ages!

Atmospheric, sad and quietly powerful. I can‘t believe this has been on my #TBR for 4 years and I finally got around to it. If you are in the mood for a haunting, poetic tale that is a suspenseful page turner, this is your book! #BookspinBingo @TheAromaofBooks #20in4 @Andrew65 #Iceland

Oh my, a new book from Hannah Kent is coming. I LOVED Burial Rites and The Good People

#BookReport #WeeklyForecast. Best of the week was Burial Rites 5 🌟 was happy to finish both buddy reads both were 3 1/2 🌟 Not very far into The Group and it has already surprised me a bit...a fast jump from a meet to the bed especially for the time period. Hope to finish the other two early in the week and start on my next 3 buddy reads and see what #bookspin has in store for me.

Iceland early 1800‘s, bleak, desolate and austere. Agnes has been sentenced to death for the murder of her lover. Did she? Beautifully told, a dark haunting tale.

🇮🇸 ✔️ off to Sweden 🇸🇪 next.

96pts #teamreadnosedreindeer #wintergames2020 #bookspin #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks @StayCurious

Book 27 #murder2020 @Tove_Reads

#Iceland #readingeurope2020 @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB

4 🌟

#bookspin #doublespin @TheAromaofBooks

46pts #teamreadnosedreindeer #wintergames2020 @StayCurious

#bookreport week 5/9/20 @Cinfhen

Finished top 2
Continued Pride and Prejudice
Bailed on The Five Giants
Hibernated Burial Rites

#3books I loved #basedontruestories 💕
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620