Welcome to Litsy!

Shockingly and pleasantly surprised to see this book lover sculpture inside a #McDonalds while visiting west #Michigan. Tagged this book that sounds well-worth reading, based on reviews by @Cosmos_Moon and others. #BookLoversDay #NovemberNarrative #MittenLitten @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

It‘s been a week since surgery!! My physical therapist said the hip‘s looking great. My upper body is a different story…it was clearly not ready to drag me around on crutches. But we‘re making progress and finding a routine. All in all things are going smoothly. Finally felt up to crafting and reading at the same time which was very exciting. Almost finished with this book and am ready to dive into the mini TBR I‘ve got on my recovery room cart.

Surgery is over!! I have a new labrum and and a little less unnecessary bone. Everything went smoothly and now I‘ll be hanging out in my little recovery (guest) room for about a month. Can‘t complain about the company. 😻 Ready to dig into this book between recovery exercises/machines and naps. #huey #catsoflitsy

I was afraid this would be too specific of a book topic, but the author is fantastic in tying McDonalds (and fast food franchising in general) into the big picture of civil rights, inner city development, emergence of black capitalism/empowerment, and Big Advertising‘s evolving attempts to appeal to Black appetites and wallets. Lesson: if you want to lift a community out of poverty, saturating it with fast food joints is not a long-term solution.

A morning hike up to a great view, with a book in tow (and a sandwich) checks off all my boxes under “life satisfaction.” Looking east from a peak in Pinnacles National Park, California.
Fun fact: the “pinnacles” are the western half of an extinct volcano that has moved 200 miles north from its origin. Geology is way cool.

“The mainstream discussion about fast food and health in communities of color disguises the intertwined histories of capitalism, racism, and violence that undergirds every part of the nation‘s existence.”

Interesting take on franchises‘ impacts on black & poor communities-from business “ownership” opportunities, to low wages & impacts of unhealthy foods readily available at low prices in food deserts. Behind the scenes politics of the fast food franchise industry was interesting to learn about & it‘s entanglement with civil rights movements. Mostly focused on McDonalds, but others discussed, too. Finished last week but just getting to review.

“Franchise“ is about the relationship between the black community and McDonald's (and other large corporations that rely on franchising as a business model). In the middle, the book reads a bit dry. However, it is well-written, informative, and even moving in some parts.