Welcome to Litsy!

New mug cuz why not #supportlocal I can‘t get tickets to the #erastour so I am making my own. This book was easy to get right into

Loved this, especially being from Colorado and having visited some of the places mentioned!

Our library picked this as it's big community read, so I gave it a try. It's really well written and interesting, for sure. Beautiful prose, deep explorations of grief, women's issues, and displacement, and a Colorado setting make this book really shine. It did have the parade of painful tragedies that make me hate historic fiction. I loved hearing from the author during an author presentation at the library. She's wonderful. #ColoradoAuthor

My friend lent me this book and said I had to read it before going to Colorado peach country this weekend. I didn‘t love it, but I really enjoyed the way Read wrote about the land - tending it and living on it. It was interesting to read about this part of the history of the state as well. A light pick for me.

This may be the first novel I‘ve read where I know the landscapes. I live in Montrose and am familiar with all the other places. Peaches grow very well in this area. The story has much sadness and grief. It was a difficult time in the world and not easy on so many fronts. I‘ve read about the making of many reservoirs across the country and know how difficult it is to be moved for the greater good. I liked many of the characters. 4.25/5

First half a 4star read , it looses plot and pace midway and the second half is just plain dull , considering the story line it should be riveting 🧐 but it isn‘t , an ok summer read no where near as good as paper palace or where the crawdads sing

I really enjoyed this. Reminded me a little of Crawdads but I think I enjoyed this more.

Next kindle read . . . Again I think this may have been influenced by Instagram. What is happening to me?!

This might be the best novel I have read this year. So beautifully written, a novel that reads like a true classic. A beautiful story of a woman with unfortunate family circumstances, the brutality of prejudice and sacrifices of motherly love. I am sad it‘s over- I loved it!

An immediately absorbing story, but in the large part it was unremittingly bleak. I like bleak, but this was very bleak. With echoes of Where the Crawdads Sing, Victoria is left unmoored by the death of her mother aged 12, left in a household of men who expect her to assume her mother‘s role. When she falls in love with Wilson Moon things unravel. My book group loved this. I enjoyed it but also had some niggles, not sure if I‘m being overly picky…

Book club pick, easy to read and no unexpected plot twists. I found it simple to predict and it included a vast amount. Possibly tried too much.
Nice descriptions of natural world and of the farmer community. I was interested to note that in the first section, all the female characters were broken in some way, and the men were all, save two, of a similar upbringing, employment and shared casual racism and sexism. Maybe of the era or locality.

I‘ve seen this compared to Where the Crawdads Sing, but in Colorado and I can see why, though the courtroom drama isn‘t present in this novel. Lonely young girl, nature, etc. Read for IRL book club, this will prompt interesting discussions. I found the book heartbreaking and moving, though not without issues. The pacing was a bit off for me, the ending seemed rushed. A great read for historical fiction fans. Also, I cried at least twice.

I wasn‘t ready for the many tears to form in my eyes while reading this. Beautifully heartbreaking, and I believe this is the authors debut novel. I‘ll be looking for more of her in the future.
This was my April #bookspin for this month 🌸

Someone‘s had an exhausting day 🙃 Everyone is in bed, now mama can get some reading time in 📚

💚Loving this so far.

I loved this book! It drew me in from the beginning, and kept me interested until the end. This author has an amazing ability to describe situations and scenery. I googled pictures of some of the mountain ranges in the story, and they were just as I envisioned them from the authors words. The women in this story were so strong and resilient. I admired the two main characters very much. I highly recommend this book. I am so hungry for a peach now!!

Ugh…so beautifully written. The depth of the main character, Victoria, made me feel like I truly knew her. Like I felt what she was feeling.

My book club chose this one for January and I‘m glad they did. I haven‘t stopped thinking about it since I finished.

Part 2 of 3: My favorites from the 144 books I read (in no particular order). I don‘t include rereads. I‘d love to hear your favorites!

6) A Book of Bees by Sue Hubbell
7) Throne of Glass series
8) The Once and Future King by T.H. White
9) A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan
10) Go As a River by Shelley Read

While Hotel of Secrets was a close second 5⭐️, this saga from a debut author completely stole my heart.♥️ Beautiful writing, achingly real characters, evocative and emotional. Simply loved.

#12BooksOf2023

This book started off as nice distraction from the winter cold I am trying to conquer but by the end my heart was all in a tangle and all I wanted was one more chapter.

Go As A River by Shelley Read

This is such a beautiful book. A story that takes you in and holds your heart in its pages. I've read two books this year that I can honestly say are my favorites. This is one. I bought this because it came so highly recommended. I'm so glad I did.
4.9 stars

Full review: https://tinyurl.com/3ekph7jv
@shelleyread.author
Shelley Read-author

Ebook is on sale for $1.99 originally $28!! It‘s a great savings if you‘d like to have something extra to read during Thanksgiving!! Or like me it‘s your book clubs December book ☺️

#SassyBookworm 😏 #KindleReads

My October pick for fiction is Go As a River. It wasn‘t a match for James Baldwin though, and The Overstory so far is the stand out for the second half of the year. Can you believe there are only 2 months left to fill?

This may be the only book I‘ve ever heard of that takes place on the Western Slope of Colorado, which is where my mom and sister live. So of course I wanted to read it!

It starts as a forbidden live story, when Tori meets Wil and immediately falls for him. But it quickly becomes so much more. Tori also loves the part of CO where she grew up, and when her farm is going to be flooded by the new reservoir, she plans to move the peach orchard.

#Top10SummerReads2023
I read some great books this summer.
@Cinfhen
Thanks for the tag @dabbe

Whole heartedly recommend this beautiful book about love, family, sacrifice, and the natural world. The narrator, Torie, is 17 when her story begins and it is a gorgeous, heartbreaking and redemptive story and I LOVED every second of it. Wayyyyyy better than Where the Crawdads Sing.
#14books14weeks2023
@TheHeartlandBookFairy

There was too much explanation and wordy processing of hardship and emotion in this book. The characters at times sound like amateur psychologists, which is less effective than if the characters' inner lives were revealed more organically. I do, however, appreciate the exploration of home, belonging, and family, and I really enjoyed the peach orchard parts. The book has reminded me that I want to visit Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.

I loved this grid so much I could eat it up! Tagged my overall favorite.

5* = Loved It, want to shout out loud about this book! I do/will own/keep a physical copy. A+
4*= I liked it, would love to discuss. Solid B
3*=Meh, no need to discuss. Avg C
2*=Nope D
1*=DNF F

Note: To equate quarter ratings to A-F scores, 3.5 and 3.25 both garner a C+, but 3.5 represents my quandary - can‘t decide if it‘s a pick or a so-so!?

This book, it‘s just so good. I TBR‘d based on Litsy love. As I was reading, I thought this is good but I‘m not loving it like I thought I might. And then the stories merge, and I‘m crying. And I‘m on an airplane and my tissues (please, not the ugly cry) are in the carry-on that I had volunteered to check to my final destination. Quick, return to the rom-com on my Libby app!

I don't know if I am filling this in right because I have the same book going against itself but whatever the case, I think I have my favorite book of the first half of the year!

This was a #Goldsboro book and I found this to be a truly absorbing story of a coming-of-age read. These characters were so real to me! I was truly swept up in the writing. 🌟🌟🌟🌟 read for me! #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks

Visiting a friend, took a wrong turn and found myself at Blue Mesa Reservoir. Then I started the book I brought, only to discover Iola, the town in the book, is under this Reservoir!

1940's Colorado rural community is home to teenage Victoria Nash who is living/and caring for her widowed father, war veteran Uncle and troubled brother. Her life is very secluded and controlled. She meets a mysterious young drifter and they start a relationship with consequences. A book about loss, love and finding the courage to follow your heart. 4 stars.

It‘s taken me a couple weeks to sort through my thoughts on this one. It was an absolutely stunning book. One thing I loved about it was that though the main character surrounded by men, it‘s truly her story. We see her grow from a young teen into a woman, mother, peach farmer, and so much more. She shows incredible vulnerability when she finally opens her heart and allows her friends to share her secrets. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review continued in comments.

Go As A River is probably best suited to readers of historical fiction who are looking for something a little more intense and survivalist than they‘re used to in WWII and Regency romances. If you‘re a fan of nature writing and nostalgic for a time before pollution ruined our natural landscapes, you‘ll love it, too. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/go-as-a-river-shelley-read/

Go As a River is an exquisite debut novel that is in my top reads of the year so far. Set in Colorado in the 1940s -1970s, the book provides a sense of place, of what it is like to be a woman, what it is to be a coloured person, a political backdrop, and a wonderful sense of nature. This book was such an immersive reading experience for me, the scenery was stunning and the writing was beautiful. It was poignant, charming and heartbreaking!!

This is a beautifully written tale about hardship, loss and resilience. The author has created a wonderful character in Victoria and watching her struggle and grow captivated me...I found myself wanting to give her a hug. I also loved the way she captured the place and times, even the small scenes, such as the one where the country watched to Vietnam draft numbers called on tv, will stick with me. I look forward to more from this author. 5/5!

I‘m not going to say much here as I‘ve got to sit down and process my thoughts, but please read this book. 😊 It‘s based around the small town of Iola, CO which was flooded in 1962 to make way for the damming of a portion of the Gunnison River and the Blue Mesa Reservoir. This is a debut novel, and I was simply blown away by the beauty of the writing and the heartbreak, strength and resilience of its heroine. I‘ll post my GR link soon. 5/5⭐️🔻

Gatsby is helping me read this one on the couch tonight.