Welcome to Litsy!

Murphy is phenomenal at delving between intertwining narratives, exploring addiction, mental illness, gentrification, and the powerful history behind the NYC AIDS crisis with a diverse set of activists, artists and addicts whose fates are flawlessly braided together through the intervening decades. The fictionalised element of the movement runs veridical to history, and I was especially moved to hear the resounding voices of women with HIV/AIDS.

Just started the fall books with the wonderful evocation of how the aids crisis impacted upon American society from the 80s up to 2021. Told from several voices it explores the impact of aids on women through a activist and her son, then adopted by 2 affluent new yorkers, through an addict once an activist and many more victims. Heartbreaking but a book told in way that I cd not put down.
#booked2022 @cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage

Christodora is a non-linear novel following a group of characters connected by the titular NYC building. It follows addiction, family, early AIDS activism, grief, and more, in a sprawling yet intimate narrative. It‘s absolutely fabulous.

#bookspin

Here is my living bingo card for March #bookspinbingo! The tagged is my #bookspin and She Would Be King is my #doublespin. Let‘s do this! 📚📚📚

An epic read that got me out of a recent reading slump. Perfect for fans of A Little Life, this is the story of a series of characters who lives in the New York building that gives the novels its title. Spanning from the 1980s to our present decade, it‘s a hard-hitting, beautiful, sweeping novel about youth, motherhood, adoption, art, addiction, activism and the AIDS crisis that wreaked havoc on so many communities. So glad I picked this up!

The complicated lives of Milly, Jared and their adopted son Mateo intertwine with various neighbours in the historic Christodora building in Manhattan, starting in 1980s during the height of the AIDS epidemic and spanning to the 2000s.

Read February 4-9
Rated 4.5/5 ⭐️
Book 9/60

Finished my IRL bookclub choice earlier this morning. Still letting my feelings settle - it wasn‘t what I expected but it left me feeling satisfied. I disliked the jumpy nonlinear timeline & felt the writing was mediocre but some of the characters really wormed their way into my heart. This book begins in the mid 80‘s and ends in 2021 so it was very easy to identify with the times & cultural references. 3 stars but still a pick 💓

The moment you realize the cover letters are the exact same color as your detox colon smoothie 🤣😂#BottomsUp 🍏🥬🥒I‘m having trouble getting into this IRL bookclub book🥴 @MicheleinPhilly I know you were a fan... I **might** need your help, I‘m meant to lead discussion next week 🙄

Thank you @fandom_hellspawn99 for the #WondrousWednesday tag 😁
1. My first trip to Disney, I was 5 and my parents took me and left my new baby brother at home with our grandparents. I got to have breakfast with Cinderella ( my namesake👸🏼)
2. 3 younger brothers
3. I joined April 13, 2016
4. Tagged book, it‘s for my IRL bookclub
5. @gradcat @jenniferajanes

#TimbitTunes #LoveThisTown I ♥️NYC, especially when it‘s captured so well in a book ❣️❣️❣️❣️Top 2 books I‘ve read and they were both very much a love letter to NYC 💌 Bottom 2 books are on my TBR. And Christodra is my next IRL bookclub read. If you have a favorite book set in NYC, please tag it below 💘🗽🚦🚖🍎

I have had this on my radar for quite some time. I was enthralled with it. Set in NYC, with different decades jumping around, it was a well rounded novel with great characters. It delves into the HIV/AIDS epidemic the city went thru & gives a history which I appreciated as well. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I‘m loving this book.

Continuing with books that have an 80s vibe, this book has been sitting on my shelf for too long. Not far in but I‘m loving it! Is anyone else having Litsy issues?????? It seems to happen EVERY Saturday 🙄

Finally pulled this one off by shelf and devoured it in one day. Somehow it was the exact book I wanted to be reading yesterday. Having lost family members to AIDS this novel was especially poignant. Just wish I hadn't waited so long to read it!

So glad it‘s already Wednesday. Hope everyone is having a good week. 📚

Diving into this one on a rainy afternoon ☔️

#bookhaul! I‘ve been very bad. Again. I went to Powell‘s and didn‘t control myself very well. 😬 On the up side, I DID buy some gifts for others (not pictured). Also, the tagged book is 100% @MicheleinPhilly ‘s fault. She‘s very persuasive!

#4NEWFavesIn4Days

Not a story about an apartment building but a story about how the AIDS epidemic ravaged a community.

Amazing book. I lived in New York City during this period and spent lots of time on the street protesting failure to put resources towards understanding/treatment of what was initially referred to as “the gay cancer.” The incredible energy of the protest moment was only equaled by the heartbreaking nature of the stories every activist (including myself) could relate about loss of someone they loved. #emojimadness @Tiffy_Reads @JoeStalksBeck

1. Cate Blanchett is my fantasy wife.
2. Blue
3. Probably the tagged book.
4. Space isn‘t really my jam. I think I‘ll stick with ground control.
5. I don‘t share when it comes to my fantasy wife.

#friyayintro

An incredible book. Set in NYC, it captures the interwoven lives of a group of people in a building over the span of 30 years during the worst of the AIDS crisis. It‘s beautifully written, heartbreaking, and powerful. If you‘re looking for a great queer book to read - this MUST be on your shelf. I can‘t recommend this enough❤️👏🏼

Giving my eyes a break with this excellent audio book for #24in48 entering hour 4

Talk about a book hangover. A big, sprawling NYC novel that on its face is about certain residents of the Christodora but is really a chronicle of how HIV/AIDS decimated a community. This book is up there with A Little Life in terms of how it affected me. ALL. THE. STARS.

Snoring pup in my lap, amazing book in my hand. #Sunday

The best books I read in 2017! I forgot to include Christodora in my photo, so it gets its own special spot :)

The full list: https://reneereadsbooks.wordpress.com/2017/12/30/the-best-books-i-read-in-2017/

Today is World AIDS Day which reminded me of this book.

My favourite reading spot. Warmest room in the house, so also my favourite napping spot #FALLSTACK @Liberty

Loved this book!

Today's #bookmail. I have so many unread books that I know I should quit buying new ones, but I really don't want to.

#TBRtemptation post 1! In this vivid, lengthy novel, a number of diverse characters are brought together by the iconic Christodora building on Manhattan's East Side. Milly & Jared are young and artistically ambitious. Hector, their neighbor, is a gay Puerto Rican AIDS activist-cum-addict. Mateo, their son, grows up amid the junkies and the protestors. NYC a la 1980s through 2020s like you've never quite seen it before. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎

So excited to have picked these up at the Harvard Book Shop warehouse sale 😁📚 the copy of Christodora is signed. All for less than $5 each!

#lgbtq #pride #riotgram #heaven @bookculture
🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈

Picked this up FOR A DOLLAR at a used book sale today. Got home and discovered it's signed!

From my TBR and fits today's prompt #LGBTQauthors Haven't seen this book mentioned much on Litsy....
Any feedback ?!? #JuneBookBugs

#RiotGrams day 1! I'm really gonna do it this time! Just on Litsy mostly so my insta isn't spammed... here is my #Shelfie! I hope this also helps my #beachinbookswap match. I always feel bad for those who have to buy me books cause I have so many! On the plus side (for my secret stalker) all my Litsy TBR are books I do not own!

5-30-17: My 16th finished book of 2017! I loved this book! It was tough, drugs, AIDS, depression, but I loved the story lines and I thought it ended very well. I cared enough about everyone to be sad that this one is over. ⭐️📚

Mika likes when I read to her. 📖😻

And I'll stop cluttering your feeds now after one last post. #bookhaul I went a bit mad, but I had a rubbish week at work and felt like treating myself. PS, I might have picked the Bulgakov based on the cover.

Can't say this one grew on me exactly. What a bunch of unsympathetic characters! I didn't care for a single one of them, none of them seemed able to grow up and they all just got more and more insufferable. Is this a book you should preferably be American to enjoy? And what's the point with the Christodora? It feels like the author started with one book and finished with another.

I've seen brilliant reviews of this and got the book based on that (because the blurb didn't interest me at all), but now I'm halfway through and I'm really not convinced. And oh do I hate books about children and junkies and this is just full of both. Matteo was born a douchebag, even at 4 he is insufferable! 😡

Some time ago, Walter chewed on my 🎧 & I got some new ones. With these new ones (and this has happened before with another pair too), Siri auto-activates when I listen to Audible books, changes the pace, JUMPS TO THE FUCKING END OF THE BOOK, & just messes up the narration in general. Today I couldn't put my phone in my pocket while running because of this, tilting the phone apparently activates this crap. Anyone else experiencing this?

This book gutted me; it tore me apart. It made me laugh and made me cry. It‘s the kind of book that sticks – I know I will be thinking about this story and these characters for a long, long time. Fans of A Little Life, this one is for you.

Full review: https://reneereadsbooks.wordpress.com/2017/03/19/book-review-christodora-by-tim-...

My weekend reads. I am absolutely loving each of these stories, but I must say Christodora has me completely in awe. It's gorgeous. What are you reading this weekend?

This is the last book to arrive from an order I placed before Christmas. Can't wait to read it!

I stayed up late to finished this amazing book. Structured in a non-linear, multi-perspective format, CHRISTODORA tells the story of a family living in the Christodora, a building in the lower east side of Manhattan. Though the primary narrative centers around Matteo and how he came be an AIDS orphan, we learn much about his birth and adoptive mothers.

P.S. The audiobook is fantastic. 👍

I'm happy that I 'found' this book. Reading this book is like dancing; it keeps switching between time and characters, but I must say the author has a strong control over it. Everything blooms at the perfect timing, and that's why I give it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have lots of #onewordtitles waiting to be read #riotgrams
But, I'm trying to #readrequests this month which is comprised of ARCs courtesy of NetGalley, the library and OverDrive. So far I've read zero books in February ☹️although I've listened to 7 hours of Bruce Springsteen on audio. Happy Friday to all❤️💜❤️

My reading spot for this week

i like big books and i cannot lie...i really didn't want this one to end. a roller coaster of a ride, this book touched
so many emotions. 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️