Welcome to Litsy!

This audio book was well acted. The author took a lot of random asides which weren‘t always useful or helpful.
Lafayette was a teen, rich and newly married, when he snuck away to go fight in the revolutionary war. He and Washington developed a close relationship and he proved himself very capable. He returned to the USA after surviving the Terror and was very popular and well received.
3/5 read for a better understanding of Lafayette in the USA

Thank you @BeaG for the lovely #winterwonderlandswap gifts. The books look fantastic & I‘m super excited for the book sleeve (it‘s my first one!) The ear muffs made me way more excited than a pair of ear muffs should, they are so soft and cozy. My husband & I both like the smell of the candle which is amazing in and of itself. (The bottom picture is him hitting the box with the bottle of champagne - why? I don‘t know.) Thanks again!

Sarah Vowell brings her trademark snark and wit, and her inimitable voice to this audiobook. She does a great job on his contributions to the Revolution, and while I did get a kick out of the audiobook and found myself smiling more than once, ultimately I ended up disappointed that a book named after Lafayette wasn‘t more enlightening about the man himself.

Features Nick Offerman as George Washington.

Full Review: https://bit.ly/rev-LaFayte

My first bail of November. Sarah Vowell is an author who should not read her own work, IMO. The quotes from celebs are okay, but it‘s all a little distracting. I may give this book another chance later in print, as the subject interests me, but it‘s an #audiofail for now.

A fun light history of the USA during the war of revolution from the viewpoint of the teenage French nobleman Lafayette who joined Washington‘s army in the fight for freedom. A worthy reminder how the French intervention in the revolutionary war shortened the conflict and how much this intervention would ultimately cost the French nobility. And also very funny.

My reading genres are everywhere lately!

Love my history with a side of humor. The audiobook is fun because the quotes are read by comedians/actors like Nick Offerman and Patton Oswalt.

I don‘t read much nonfiction, but this book has convinced me that maybe I should read more. #Hamilton inspired me to learn more about America‘s favorite fighting Frenchman, and it was really cool to be able to connect real-life events from this book with what was portrayed in the show. (A favorite example: “Are these the men with which I am to defend America?” was a real Washington quote, not just a song lyric!) Overall, highly recommended.

#Hamilton obsession level: reading up on America‘s Favorite Fighting Frenchmaaan - #LAFAYETTE. 😂 I‘ve been waiting on this hold from my library for a while and I‘m super excited to learn more about the life of Hamilton‘s best character.

#sundayreads #weekendreads #libraryreads #americanhistory #history #nonfiction

...when you just buy a book, walk out of the shop and realise you‘re on Lafayette Street! 🤣🤣🤣

My first Sarah Vowell audiobook! And my first audiobook in years. (I don‘t do audiobooks well, as my mind tends to wander.) I really enjoyed the performances, and the topic was also interesting.

I‘m reading about Lafayette and the Revolutionary War, and all I can picture is Daveed Diggs from #Hamilton. It‘s not a bad way to experience the book.

#Riotgrams Day 14 - #Audiobooks. Currently 🎧

“That, to me, is the quintessential experience of living in the United States: constantly worrying whether or not the country is about to fall apart.”

“The newly dubbed General Lafayette was only nineteen years old. Considering Independence Hall was also where the founders calculated that a slave equals three-fifths of a person and cooked up an electoral college that lets Florida and Ohio pick our presidents, making an adolescent who barely spoke English a major general at the age I got hired to run the cash register at a Portland pizza joint was not the worst decision ever made there.”

“...Levasseur described the newspapers as ‘Arsenal‘s in which one finds weapons of all forms and of all characters, and they all conduct themselves at times in a very discourteous manner.‘” #truestory #themorethingschangethemoretheystaythesame
(Three cheers for outdoor lunchtime reading! 🙌🏼)

1. I think I saw a post from @Liberty ... or maybe @bookriot 🤔
2. I use Goodreads and keep a written list, as well
3. Ummm...absolutely! Though I‘m all for swaps, too.
4. Hope to make some time for the tagged book. I haven‘t made enough time for reading lately, and I‘m going through withdrawal. 🤦🏻‍♀️📚📖🙋🏻‍♀️

@Chellebearss

I know I‘m late to the party on this one, but it was so good!! Interesting, funny, educational...I love her voice. This is my second of her books and I‘m already looking to get the others. This is my biography/narrative non-fiction for the Modern Mrs. Darcy challenge.

Next up! Really looking forward to this. 📖 #Lafayette

Sitting at a terrible conference (everything has gone wrong so far on the way here) I‘m just thankful for Libby and my online library 📚

1. Non-fiction exploration of the prolific rapper (lol, just kidding) & his involvement in the American Revolution & resulting “celebrity”.
2. Such a hard call: Twizzlers and Nutrageous (& pretty much all candy known to humankind).
3. I‘m an older Millennial/Gen Y gal.
4. My Medela breast pump; that‘s one way to start the day! 🤱🏻❤️
5. Bday party for my 3 y.o.‘s school mate; relaxing; sorting through baby clothes; “watching” football; reading!

The perfect antidote to my last audiobook, this is a delightful romp through Revolutionary War history. Kept me entertained through hours of house cleaning this morning.

Have books, will travel #commuterlife

Fun, funny, and historically informative.

Like many, Daveed made Lafayette just come alive for me through his portrayal in Hamilton, so of course I had to use his picture to show off my current listen! I'm really enjoying this so far, my first by Sarah Vowell, I'm definitely in for more of her history tellings! Non-Fiction.

History is not my favourite topic. I don't really care about history, and I care about revolutionary war even less, yet somehow this book made me care. The author's delightful irreverence and deep affection make is a pleasure to read.

I loved this book! Listened to the audio on #overdrive, and her voice takes a bit to get used to, but great stories, great commentary, and great info. I recommend!

Trying to beat the due date...

Once I got over the author's voice in the audio I really enjoyed this book about Lafayette's role in the revolution (even though it covered more than that). I found the author's sarcastic commentary hilarious as we often put history and heroes on a pedestal, but they were just as prone to mistakes and stupidity as the rest of us! #nonfiction #audiobook

Everyone here was right. I got used to Sarah's voice, and now I'm interested in all her books on audio.

This is a short biography of Marquis Lafayette. It isn't exhaustive and isn't meant to be definitive, but there are some little known anecdotes here and Vowell's overall style is casual and relatable. Her tendency to use 21st century sensibilities and hindsight to condemn the actions of some of these 18th century players is grating, but it's still a pick. Just not an enthusiastic one.

#asidefromreading time!

Hobby: Ballet, but I'm also an avid soccer fan hence my giddy face in this photo!

Drink: Wine

Food: Caprese salad

Color: Light blue

City: Oxford, England

Dream house: Pretty much anything featured on "Escape to the Country"

Accessory: My many pairs of glasses!

TV show: I swear I also watch smart shows, but my summer belongs to Big Brother ?

Last movie: Wonder Woman

Current read: Tagged book among many others

Selections from my #TBR shelf for today's red/white/blue prompts from both #jubilantJuly & #sizzlinsummerbooks, AND they're all about America. 🇺🇸

Sarah Vowell's easy, conversational style of writing American history is once again a delight in this book about General Lafayette in the Revolutionary War. She strikes a good balance between informative and entertaining, with her witty asides and connections to modern day politics.

#rockinmay day 7 - #philadelphiafreedom

Speaking of authors I need to catch up on, have had this Vowell for a while now. One of the last books I bought before moving back from ATL.

This is as far as we got on our drive home (because my husband refuses to listen at any speed faster than 1x!) But hooray for being home and back to litsy etc.

This weekend's road trip audiobook

This was my first Sarah Vowell book and now I get why she's so popular. Her style of narrative nonfiction is like having a great conversation with a knowledgeable friend. While there were no big unknown revelations for me about the subject, the experience of reading the book was worth the retread.

Hitting a little close to home right now.

This morning's train read. Going to see Hamilton in Chicago tonight so I thought I should be on theme!

audiobook Sunday again, apparently! :)

I listened to this one and loved hearing the author's own voice, particularly since she has such a distinctive style. Totally would suggest listening over reading this one. It really gave me a sense of what the revolutionary war was like. And I laughed outloud a couple off times.

"Lafayette's concerns about finally taking his first crack at combat basically boiled down to Danger! Yippee!"

#LitsyReadingChallenge #LRC25 #freespace

Listening to Aaron Copland while reading Sarah Vowell's Lafayette in the Somewhat United States just feels right. Her writing is fantastic (smart and funny) and Copland is a legend. #LRC25 #LitsyReadingChallenge

i just appreciate how sarah vowell calls it like it is: lafayette was an earnest teenager & the continental army was a hot ass mess until various europeans piped in to help out.

jólabókaflóð = chocolate + book + christmas eve

I had such high expectations for this book and it fell short. It's such an interesting subject and I learned a lot of miscellaneous details about Lafayette and the Revolutionary War (kind of a miracle win, as well as lucky that Cornwallis chose to camp at Yorktown). But, the writing style did not work for me at all. It was too breezy and too stream of consciousness. And, the lack of chapters and natural breaks was annoying and preventable.

I found the prose of this a little exhausting. I guess that's how narrative non-fiction goes but I wanted her to calm down and just tell me the history already.