Welcome to Litsy!

@AmyG - what an amazing surprise! You totally made my day, thank you so much 😁

(And can we all take a minute to appreciate the gorgeous spine on this edition?! 😍)

I started out really liking this. The unfortunate circumstances that kept stacking up against Sitwell had me rooting for him, hoping something would finally go his way.

The first half of the book is from his point of view, and the second half, which I didn‘t like nearly as much, is from the point of view of a former coworker and potential love interest of Sitwell‘s, named Jennie.

The switch felt really abrupt and I couldn‘t settle back in.

First book finished for #trappedonanisland
This had some interesting characters and started off strong but in the end, was kind of lukewarm.
@aperfectmjk

It's a warm and rainy on the island, a perfect day to hide out in my hut and work on the first of the 5 books that made it here with me..I'm on chapter 4 and this one is starting to get good!
🌧🛖📖👀🏝
#trappedonanisland
@aperfectmjk @Littlewolf1

Oh my goodness @Soubhiville I don‘t know what to say. You‘ve really spoilt us both. I just heard Liberty Hardy gushing about the tagged book - it‘s her book of the year so I can‘t wait to read it. The playing cards are going to be used on Christmas night - love them. Love it all. Xxxxx

@FallTreasures #Slowburn
@Eggs & @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
Looks like you girls had a great weekend, I'm so glad you two ladies got to hang out!😊

I started The Rib long with high hopes but sadly this book just didn‘t deliver. The first 40% of the book we are introduced to quite a few interesting characters. The last 60% has a storyline that doesn‘t hit the high notes. Hubbard turns the story into something that isn‘t interesting at all. The book loses steam and I list interest. The writing is very good but Hubbard dabbles in way too many themes and the story gets lost - a real shame.

I went in to reading The Rib King not having any idea what it was about and to tell the truth, I hadn‘t even looked at the table of contents, so I was surprised by the turns this story took. Jams, wafers, sauce, healing salve—disparate elements come together in this book about race, money, and loyalties.

Is there anything better than reading through a Sunday afternoon storm?

This one was actually an online horoscope recommendation 😂
It was ok, not the type of book I usually go for, more on the light side without a lot of oomph to it. It did remind me of white privilege in America and how we really haven‘t come all that far since the early 1900‘s.

I love that Libby now tells you when your book expires! I can plan my days accordingly to finish the last 2 hours by 4:41pm...tomorrow!

Got some audio listening in on the drive to and from the trail heads yesterday! It was a beautiful day for a looong bike ride. This audiobook loan expires soon so I‘m hoping to get some yard work and a dog walk in today to wrap it up! Happy Sunday ❤️

Another book win arrived today.

4⭐I was so absorbed in the first half of this book and couldn‘t stop thinking about it.The second part was faster-paced but captivated me less.I loved how things came together (but I struggled with the abrupt ending). The pacing added tension the hectic, frantic scenes in the end and the book weaves matters of race, exploitation, class, and gender into a tense story in a historical setting, in a way that shows how significant they still are today.

My goal was to post my books every month this year. Already messing up🙄. So here is January, better late than never. Not a great start to the year, but got time to hit that reading goal for the year.
The Rib King was fantastic!

Loved this, and I‘m going to be unpacking it for a while. A really enjoyable reading/listening experience - great language that evokes the time period, often funny, and top-notch audiobook narration. The many different ways in which the (well-drawn and memorable) characters respond to racism, oppression, and exploitation are rich food for thought. (Pun unintended, but the book‘s full of food talk, too! ❤️)

Overall, this is a terrific book, looking at the gulf between black and white people not long after abolition, white privilege and entitlement, and the richness and difficulty of the lives of black folk trying to get by. I do think the title does it a bit of a disservice as it focuses the book in a way that doesn‘t help it, and the ending is a tad abrupt. But I really enjoyed the characters and relationships.

I usually vehemently disagree with this monthly round up - they always seem to pick the covers I‘ve pointedly disliked! 🤣. This month I kind of agree with their choice! 🥳

https://lithub.com/the-10-best-book-covers-of-january-2/

The writing is excellent and the story so complete. I really loved this book. This story is told in two parts and wow, It takes a hard swerve to the second half. It becomes a whole other kind of story. And it's great. 😃

HAPPY PUB DAY!!!!!

https://wellreadneck.wordpress.com/2021/01/19/the-rib-king-ladee-hubbard/

The Rib King is honest, timely, and enjoyable. This novel could not be coming out at a better time. It reminded me of how far we have come, but also how far we have to go as a country, specifically the treatment of POC and women. From women needing a man‘s signature to secure a loan, to caricatures on products, to segregation, The Rib King speaks on numerous topics that have become a relevant part of the current conversations being had today.

I‘m loving my 2021 horoscope and book recommendations so much, I added the book to my TBR! https://www.google.com/amp/s/bookriot.com/january-2021-horoscopes-and-book-recom.... #TBRCrew

So excited about this novel coming in January. I got both the #audiobook and e-galley and planned to switch back and forth. The narration was great, but when I sat down with the book, I accidentally kept reading until the end. Whoops. #SorryNotSorry

I immediately put the author‘s backlist novel, The Talented Ribkins on my TBR.

#ARC #Edelweiss #Netgalley

It‘s time for another recommendation for incredible 2021 releases, so go get your TBR list. I‘ll wait here.

Okay, ready? This book ripped the top of my head off! It‘s another one that I immediately read again as soon as I finished it. I‘m pretty sure it‘s already my favorite book of next year. It‘s so freaking brilliant, and I want everyone to read it. 👑❤️👑