Welcome to Litsy!

I am hosting a Victoria Day Weekend readathon this Friday through Sunday. For those outside of Canada, some of may be wondering what is the Victoria Day weekend. To sum it up, its the unofficial start of summer here in Canada. For a more broad definition of Victoria Day, you can go here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Day⤵️

I read this book about 8 years ago and I really like it. I really liked the details of Victoria‘s life and found it really engrossing. #letterv #alphabetgame

Excellent biography of Queen Victoria. Not at all dry. Baird really brings history alive.

#Royalty #BookMoods
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I always love coming back to Queen Victoria.
This was a nice detailed book on her life.
I know more about young Victoria than older Victoria so it was nice to know more about later life.

It's me reading at the beach from a few years ago; you can see only my legs #beachselfie #summerfun @4thhouseontheleft @StayCurious

This is a #bookgiftedtome that I probably would not have read otherwise, but that I ended up loving and recommending all over the place. #GratefulReads @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620

Even though this may have taken almost two years to read, this book was fantastic. So well-researched. And doesn't shy away from some of the problematic aspects of Victoria's personality and reign. Y'know, like her disdain for suffragettes 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️. Ultimately a fascinating, complicated woman.

#theunreadshelfproject2019

6 of today‘s replacements for my #LeftHanders Display! 😁

Have you read any of these?!

#LitsyLovesLibraries #MrBooksDisplays

#BookMail Pt5 Finally for this stack of mail is this behemoth of a non fiction about Queen Victoria. It was actually my dad who recommended this to me, he said it was one of the best biographies he‘s ever read, and he‘s read a lot. Written by Sydney journalist Julia Baird, it uses historical documents & first person accounts to give a very frank account of the long lived queens life, including material that the Palace tried to stop her using.👸🏻

Had fun finishing this today. I learned a lot about the Queen. I read it for the ATY challenge prompt #34 a book with a person‘s name in the title.
#ATY2019
#aroundtheworldin52books

Baird has done a remarkable job reconstructing the inner life of a woman whose family and official biographers tried to mold into the myth she had become. Victoria was remarkably contradictory in her views, believing that she had the right to tell her ministers what to do and shape foreign policy yet felt inferior to her husband and didn‘t believe in women‘s suffrage, etc. (which I was surprised to learn). A book I picked up at BEA 2016.

Very good. Enjoyed reading all about a well known figure in a different light. Recommend. Thank you #NetGalley for the proof copy.

Baird's meticulous biography of the Grandmother of Europe helps distinguish the woman from the legend, revealing Victoria to be just as complicatedly human as the rest of us while providing immersive context of Victoria's world, how it shaped her, and how she shaped it.

"She was ready.
But when Victoria first sat on the throne, her feet did not touch the floor. Below the soaring arches of Westminster Abbey, she was a mere dot, burning under the curious gaze of the gathered crowd, trying not to dangle her legs. Thousands thronged the streets of London before sunrise, hoping to claim a vantage point from which to glimpse Britain's new queen, who was just eighteen years of age and less than five feet tall."

This bio will strip away those rose-colored glasses.

Victoria was a great woman, but her reign oversaw great horrors and tragedy, not least of which were glorified colonialism and rampant poverty.

Although she enjoyed a place at the table, she didn‘t believe other women should share the privilege. She did, however, advocate for their physical wellbeing. That was a very different time, but still.

And there‘s so much more!!

#bookreview #history

My go-to for #booksetinaqueendom, although any British novel from the last ~70 years would work too. 😀 #julyinbooks18 @bookisglee

On sale for 1.99
#kindledeal

Queen Victoria reigned for 63 years, 7 months, & 2 days. She lived for 81 years. I felt like I listened to this audiobook for *at least* that long. I admit, it was an ambitious undertaking for me; non-fic is not my preferred genre & this is an IN-DEPTH biography (at 21+ hours). But it could have been shorter! It was repetitive & contained many extraneous words (I wanted to take a red pen to every instance of “though”)! But I did learn a lot. 🤷‍♀️

Not part of @DeweysReadathon but delighted to spend some time with Victoria. Fascinating queen, well-written bio. I deplore getting up early, but a good read takes out some of the sting!

1. Done! SO GOOD ❤️
2. They caught the fellow from my hometown that shot up the Waffle House in TN. The whole town is relieved he‘s caught but horrified at the (preventable) tragedy.
3. Nope! Going to senior Game Design daughter‘s capstone & internship demo show
4. What did the Buddha say when he walked into a pizza parlor? “Make me one with everything.” This is an awful joke, I‘m sorry, that my Pipe Sergeant told me.
5. Will do!
#friyayintro

Congratulations to @IheartYA for reaching the 15,000 Litfluence milestone, and thank you for this #15kgiveaway ! And, thank you for the tag, @SilversReviews !

1. Top 3 most anticipated books: The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz, The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton, and In Search of Mary Shelley by Fiona Sampson

2. Tagged book - great Queen Victoria bio!!

3. @erista @ferskner @ErinGoBragh1011

“She was so bored, she nearly unlearned laughing.”

😅😂😆 Love this phrase!

Thank you for the tag @rohit-sawant !
1. Couldn‘t decide between Wonder Woman (another Diana) or Elizabeth Bennett (everyone‘s favorite), so I chose Queen Victoria. I fancy it would be lovely to live in a palace and have a love like Albert.
2. I don‘t have a knack for remembering quotes (although I greatly admire those who can!), so the best I can do is The Wizard of Oz.
3. Taking a trip to New York or a used bookstore.
4. Someone new: @Suleika

1. Most recently cried my eyes out when Prince Albert died in the Victoria biography. Does he count as a character? Obviously, I knew it was coming...
2. Plaid
3. I‘m almost embarrassed to say that I prefer my fries without any embellishment. Not even ketchup. Just salt. So much salt. 🍟
4. I grew up saying pop and then decided that I prefer the sound of soda. 🥤 🤦🏼‍♀️

By some miracle I managed to finish this massive chronicle of Queen Victoria‘s life. I‘m not a huge reader of nonfiction - although I plan to branch out more this year - but I loved this book. It was surprisingly easy to read, full of history, politics, and fascinating people, and heartbreak. Definitely worth a read.

Just over here bawling my eyes out while reading about a guy who died 157 years ago. 😭😭😭 RIP Prince Albert.

Those rare and precious moments when they play so well together that I‘m able to read a couple chapters in my book... 🙌🏻

The best way to spend the half hour before my shift at work. #currentlyreading

This is not an enthusiastic pick, but it wasn't bad. I did not like the narrator of the audiobook and there were some instances of the author dramatizing events, which is something I dislike in nonfiction. Luckily that didn't happen too often, and Queen Victoria is definitely an interesting person to learn about.

#litsyatoz #letterV

#17in2017 @Cinfhen There was only room for 16 photos, but the tagged book makes 17. This was kind of like being asked to name your favorite child . . . Thanks for the tag @jdtchicago

I started this thinking I could knock out a difficult letter for #litsyatoz right away, but I'm not sure what I think of it. I am definitely more intrigued about Victoria's life just from the little I've listened to, but I don't like the narrator and I don't care for the writing style. But I want to know more about her! I'll give it a little more time before I bail.

Also, this is only $2.99! So great!

I‘m not usually a big reader of biographies, as I often find them a little dry and long winded. But despite the whopping 752 page word count, the same can not be said of this work about Queen Victoria. Granted, I am partial to royalty, but this was engaging, insightful and even witty at times. Highly recommended!

I‘m not usually a big reader of biographies, as I often find them a little dry and long winded. But despite the whopping 752 page word count, the same can not be said of this work about Queen Victoria. Granted, I am partial to royalty, but this was engaging, insightful and even witty at times. Highly recommended!

I really loved this audiobook! It was engaging, fun, and really gave me insights into Victoria as a woman instead of just the queen. The narrator (Lucy Rayner) was great too!

My most reliable #travel companion, my kindle. Great for Christmas holiday travel or any other variety. And the tagged book I intend to read on the beach this January.
#reindeerreads

I'm so happy with my #totebagswap. I waited so I could have it to look forward to at the end of the day! Thank you, @aroc for being so thoughtful! I can't wait to read all three of the books. The tote bag and extras are great too, right down to the tea tucked into the side pocket. Thank you to @cobwebmoth for organizing this swap. This was my first one, and it was a great experience!

Finally starting this chunkster on audiobook. Anyone else prefer longer books in the cold months?

Feeling ambitious on my lunch break today

Didn't expect it to be this big lol

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Excellent read. One interesting bit about Victoria is that she hated wearing corsets and wouldn't wear them a lot after about 1867, because she found them very uncomfortable. And despite the fact that she was queen, she was a beacon for those wanting women's suffrage, despite she herself not liking it.

Onto the final part of this amazing biography of Queen Victoria.

#beachread still working on the book, but it is getting closer to the end. Such an amazing woman. #queenvictoria #royalty #19thcentury #biography #19thcenturywomen #greatbritain #librarybooks

Wonder what happened to Anethesia and wonder if it was male or female.

Of the millions of people who filed past these creations, staring at them in wonder, very few comprehended how much these mechanisms would transform their lives in the decades to come.

Wow. 😳

I found this biography very interesting. It also shattered what I thought of Queen Victoria and especially of Prince Albert and their legacies.

Wow, finishing this book was so bittersweet. I couldn't put it down, but never wanted it to end at the same time! What a thoughtful, well-researched, intimate portrait of Queen Victoria's life and reign. As a researcher of the Victorian era, my reading of the Queen's biography was long past due. I am so grateful that I waited for the right moment and the right book to truly understand this woman from a deeper perspective. This is a MUST read! ♡♡♡