Welcome to Litsy!

#SpringSkies Day 13: #OneWordTitle - part of my Bog Bad Wolf Book haul early this year.

“There is a mythical bird we have here, Anna. We call it sankofa. It flies forward with its head facing back. It‘s a poetic image but it can‘t work in real life.”

Chinundu Onuzo, Sankofa

#firstlinefriday

⭐️⭐️⭐️

A quiet, meandering tale of discovery, reminding us that we must face the past in order to fully understand ourselves and move forward. I liked it overall, but was never really excited to get back to the story. The narration was great! 🎧

Why is it that every now and then a load of my kindle wish list is suddenly 99p?? It‘s never one it‘s always lots or none. These are todays purchases #blameitonlitsy

This one was surprisingly good. I wasn‘t sure it would be my cup of tea. But I was quickly sucked in

Anna is living alone now that her daughter is an adult and she has separated from her cheating spouse. Adrift and searching for her identity she discovers that the father she never knew is not only still alive, he‘s the former president of an African country. Anna sets out to meet him and learn about who he is, his country, and who she is in relation to both. There was a lot to delve into but I found myself impatient with the pacing and with Anna.

So good!! Rly amazing view on family, race, identity, colonization, politics… lots of correlation with real world situations, and still such a unique story, with its own voice and personality. Onuzo is a brilliant writer, this grabbed me from the start and just kept improving.

Excellent audio of an interesting story: Anna discovers information upon her mother‘s death that leads her to her father, a West African man she has never known and who had left London (and her mother) before learning a child was coming.

Y'all ever wish you could reach into a book and smack some sense into a character? 😅 Chapter 24 of Sankofa had me wondering if the protag learned absolutely a n y t h i n g. If you like literary fiction, family drama, & books set in Africa...highly recommend this one (despite my current agitation 😂).

Today has been icky for a lot of reasons. My heart is with everyone who is also feeling scared and unsettled by the Supreme court's recent decisions.

I'm going to attempt to distract myself with a new book and the sound of rain outside my window.

In lighter news, I was finally given a volunteer spot at the library. I was on the waitlist for almost a year, and I start next month. 💕📚

This is a story of a woman healing the division of her black & white identities. A bit slow initially, but overall a definite pick. I really enjoyed the imagery of the initiation ceremony.

Another enjoyable read.- After her mother dies, a woman finds a diary belonging to her father who she never knew. She does some investigating and (not a spoiler, it's on the back) finds out after leaving her mother he became the prime minister of a small (fictional) West African nation (for a mere 30 years). So of course she heads off to visit. Really enjoyed being her companion on this trip. Will look out for more by this author.

Fire on - it's chilly in Scotland! Am really liking this book so far. And I love the cover.

3 out of 5

Last trip to the Watermill book shop of the holiday.

4⭐/5⭐

I enjoyed this story of a middle aged woman, who discovers the identity of her father upon her mother‘s passing. Audio narration moved this from a so-so to a pick. Anna is at a crossroads in her life when she decides to throw caution to the wind and travel to #Mali to meet the father she never knew. Author really described African ritual, custom, culture, food & identity in vivid prose with rich details. #ReadingAfrica22 #Booked22 #AfricanAuthor

A slow, winter afternoon type read. I love reading stories about Black women that just get to live their lives and have family secrets and relationships and travel adventures, contrasted with Black women always being the teachers of antiracism and anti-Blackness. Diversifying your bookshelf also means reading Black fiction, stories of family & finding yourself & love.

A story of a broken middle-aged woman who longs to know her father after she loses her mother. She takes a leap of faith leaving her old life, husband and daughter behind in and sets to Bamana to find out her father is a prominent figure with a second life and is angered as to why he left her, his first daughter, and her mother. She goes through many battles and plot twists to understand him and her upbringing but finds her way and herself.

Overall an enjoyable listen. At times I was a little irritated by Anna who did not let the listener work anything out for herself. But I always wanted to know what happened next! And Sankofa was a very apt title!

My next audio book as recommended by BBC 2 Between the Covers. Hope to rattle through it doing my Christmas cooking

It started out so good but 3/4 in Anna really started to annoy me. So naive for a grown woman. And there were characters who just show up for no compelling reason (looking at you Ken).

I loved this book. I think it would not have taken much to turn this one into a thriller, Instead it‘s a quiet story of a 48 yo woman discovering who her biological father is and how incredibly different her life would be (for better or worse) had he known of her existence.

October reading report.

Book 132/150.

This novel about a middle-aged woman searching for her father gave me the feels and the giggles. After her mother‘s death, Anna finds a diary written by her absent father. She discovers he‘s a west African dictator and goes to meet him. She‘s dealing with very relatable middle aged problems: infidelity, worries about her adult daughter, her mother‘s death, and she‘s seeking to make sense of herself through these transitions. Definitely recommend!

Loved this quiet novel on #audiobook

A woman in midlife separated from her cheating husband and worried about her 20 something daughter decides to track down the father she never met. #Netgalley

A mixed race woman comes to a crossroads in her life and decides to look for the African father she never knew. This story of her quest and travel to Africa is engaging. I liked but didn‘t love it.

Current read. Audiobook on Hoopla.

#botm arrived! Not sure which I‘ll read first. 🤔🤔 #bookmail is definitely the best mail!

A gentle novel about about a middle aged woman debating on whether to divorce her philandering, but remorseful, husband only to find out the father she never knew is living and a former President of a small African nation. While the book is rather slow paced, I did find myself strangely unable to put it down - a slightly different take on a mid life crisis #NetGalley #Sankofa

Pro tip that I just remembered: If you had a prior #botm account that you canceled, you can go to www.bookofthemonth.com/bluebox to get a deal on rejoining. This account I used for around a year as a second account and they offered me a free book. I‘ve used if before on a shorter-term account and got the first book for $5. While you can choose any book, even add-ons or old picks, there are only two spots in your box. Hope this helps someone! ⬇️

I could not stop reading this. Anna finds her father's diary among her mother's things when she dies. Anna never met her father who returned to Africa before she was born. At loose ends in her own life, she decides to try to meet him. It's about identity. I definitely recommend it.

#BookSpinBingo square 14
@TheAromaofBooks

Pub date is 10/5/2021
#ARC #Netgalley