Welcome to Litsy!

Late to the party, but glad to finally be reading this

March reading! My top pick was James, but I have to give serious honorable mentions to both nonfiction books I read this month, The Barn and I'm Glad My Mom Died, both outstanding. Project Hail Mary would come in last if I was mean like that, but honestly it reminded me why science fiction just generally isn't for me.

I listened to Huck Finn before reading this, just to be able to enjoy the context and draw contrasts and such. But honest to god y'all I almost wish I hadn't. I mean, it's fine read Twain or don't read Twain, this book stands alone. Absolutely engrossing and the story so compelling that I almost immediately forgot that this book had anything to do with Twain. Inspired by Twain, not Twain retelling, I loved it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#ToB25 and #LitsyToB25 have taken very different roads this year (which makes it so fun!) but in the end we all agree (at least a majority does 😉) on James as the winner of both tournaments. Percival Everett finally takes away the 🐓!

Thank you all for participating in this year‘s LitsyToB and I hope to see you next year. But before that, it won‘t be long until we‘ll be back with #CampLitsy25! Meg, Helen and I hope you‘ll join us there!

We have our first #LitsyToB25 finalist. The History of Sound didn‘t really stand a chance against James.
I personally am disappointed, I rooted so hard for THoS 🤷🏻‍♀️
In the #ToB25 we‘ll see tomorrow if James there too advances to the finals. Today Martyr! beat Margo in the first ToB Zombie round.

Tomorrow we‘ll have the second Zombie match: The Book Censor‘s Library vs The Wedding People.

In the #ToB25 it's James against Martyr!, in the #LitsyTOB25 it's James against Beautyland.
That turned out to be one of the hardest choices for many of us but in the end James won, while in the real tournament Martyr! has grown into a serious contender for the Rooster!
We‘re sorry to see Beautyland go. The question is: can Percival Everett be stopped?! Tomorrow we'll know which Zombie he'll be up against!

Our first #LitsyToB25 quarter final is James against The Book of Love. A nobrainer. Even though not everyone has voted yet: it is 17 votes for James against 0 for TBoL.
In the #ToB25 James was up to Headschot and there too, it came out as a winner loud and clear.
Tomorrow will be more exciting I suppose. In both tournaments it is Martyr! against Beautyland. If you haven't voted yet please do so: https://forms.gle/wLZ3vkQuYwU77wom6

At that moment the power of reading made itself clear and real to me. If I could see the words, then no one could control them or what I got from them. They couldn‘t even know if I was merely seeing them or reading them, sounding them out or comprehending them. It was a completely private affair and completely free and, therefore, completely subversive.

First read of 2025 and what a read 📖💚

Loved this, but wonder if I would have loved it more if I‘d read Huckleberry Finn? Percival is now a must read author for me.
Story‘s like this are so important!
“Reading is an exercise in empathy; an exercise in walking in someone else‘s shoes for a while”.
Let‘s see if this book ends up being banned in America as part of its plan of action to ignore and erase its unpleasant black history. I just can‘t understand this way of thinking! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a great read! It brought back so much of Huck Finn that I‘d forgotten and loved. This is so well done. A retelling from Jim‘s perspective. It would be a great text for teachers to teach alongside Huck Finn. I hope somewhere in the world someone is still teaching Huck Finn. Both of these books are such important pieces of literature and a snapshot of an era that shouldn‘t be forgotten. Still very relevant today.

Brilliant in style, content and importance.
James is wise and clever yet forced into submission of slavery. His account of fleeing is full of terror, absolute uncertainty and fear in everything yet bravery and courage shine through.

Great read! I got into this quite quickly and was reading several chapters at a time. EDITED TO ADD: what I enjoyed about this book was the retelling of a classic (The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn) from a different perspective. I confess I've never read the original but my mom used to teach it to her classes, so I heard a lot about the original book. "James" makes me eager to give that one a try!

I think everyone knows this a retelling of Huckelberry Finn, from the perspective of James/Jim who was a slave. Instantly engrossing and engaging. It‘s a hard story to handle but there‘s also much to appreciate. The intelligence, and nuance of James who was such a well depicted character, I felt like I knew him and I enjoyed his company very much. A must read for everyone

#james #percivaleverett #abolition

Checking in to report on my current read and my upcoming reading plans. I'm really enjoying James so far (about halfway through). I decided to reinstate an old project of mine that has been abandoned for a while - Operation Tidy-Up-My-Bookcase. My plan is going to be to try and weed out some books and gift them to little free libraries. Pictured here is my #tbr pile - some new but mostly old books to revisit as part of the operation!

Another unsurprising win in the first real bracket. In the #ToB as well as our #LitsyToB25. James it is.
The Book Censor was voted for by Meg, Holly, Jill & Kristy. Holly has been a big promotor of it on Litsy, she and Kristy even think it should win the tournament!
For now chances seem small, although the zombies can be surprising. James is this year‘s favorite for 5 of us: Shawna, Tammy, Katherine, Leslie and Cari. They‘re having a good day!

Up next for book club.

That Percival Everett was able to craft a novel which honors the good in Twain‘s original masterpiece, while also rectifying many of its flaws, is no small feat.

But it‘s that this novel can also stand entirely, remarkably, on its own, that takes things to a whole other level.

5 stars.

New stack after a rare trip to a book shop. I usually pick up books from the street library or get them as gifts. As a result I often find it impossible to choose. I started James, only about 10 pages in but it‘s immediately engaging #percivaleverett #mirandajuly #charlottewood

I am really crushing the books this year - this will be my sixth! Found this one suggested through an alumni newsletter. #BookSixOf2025

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Solid pick from the #ToB25 short list. Lots of others have reviewed much better than I can. I loved that James was the hero, both of his own story and for so many others. And I loved that Everett got in, told the story, and let it wrap up—I feel like a lot of other authors would have added a couple hundred more unnecessary pages to the last part of the book and it didn‘t need them.

Unbelievably fantastic. This takes the story we first heard in Huck Finn, turns it around and then takes it to the next level. Very powerful stuff.

This is a hard one to discuss in 450 characters. The best thing to know is this is not a re- telling of Huck Finn. That novel was valuable in its time to revise the prevailing white POV to see the innate goodness of black people. This novel raises the ante and challenges the modern reader to see black people as fully human and capable and yearning for self- expression. It is a worthy expansion to Twain‘s masterpiece.

Birthday gifts from my mom (James) and sister (the third season of Twin Peaks - I already have the original series and Fire Walk with Me). We also went to see Dancing with the Stars Live today and will have cake in a bit 🎂 💃 📖 🦉

I am the type of person who likes to know as little as possible about a book before reading it. So when I discovered there was a book that retold Huck Finn from Jim's POV, I couldn't wait to read it! But I wouldn't reduce this story to that sentiment. This book is James' story. One of the many things lacking from my history education were the stories of resistance by enslaved people. I will never forget this version of James. (Cont in comments)

Everett poignantly describes the price of a pencil, the price of freedom, the price of humanity. James becomes more than the sidekick of Huckleberry. He becomes a hero. Hero doesn't do James justice. He becomes an avenger.

A lot of trigger warnings, but it is a must-read.

This book was great. The premise of Huckleberry Finn told from the perspective of Jim was awesome, and I particularly loved his love of literature. I‘ve only read an excerpt from the original story (high school required reading of “classics” written by white men a long time ago), and I liked this version so much better that I didn‘t even feel the urge to go back and compare the two. I highly recommend this one.

This book is one of—if not THE—best books I have ever read. I am so moved. I have no words. No words except “thank you” to the brilliant Percival Everett for blessing me with this experience. My. God. I‘m still crying.

I‘ve heard of an underground railroad. I wanted it to be real, even if I could have no truck with it. Some people were finding a way north—that was what I, so many of us, needed to believe. It pained me to think that without a white person with me, without a white-looking face, I could not travel safely through the light of the world…Without someone white to claim me as property, there was no justification for my presence, perhaps for my existence

#AuldLangSpine @JamieArc @monalyisha
I devoured most of this book on a plane ride from Newark to San Diego and wondered when I was passing over the Mississippi, where the action of this excellent novel plays out. I've been reading Huckleberry Finn at the same time, and what a complicated relationship there is between the two novels. I like how Everett didn't feel constrained to follow the original step by step, as a lot of retellings do. 👇

My library has a "blind date with a book" shelf, so I picked one up. I added this one to my TBR a couple of months ago, and I'm so excited to read it!

Currently reading James and about 60 pages in I predicted it was going to be a 5⭐️ read. I'm very interested to see how that holds up.

I found the first third of this book a little slow, but the rest was so good! I ended up crying when I was describing it to my partner. There‘s so much pain and trauma, but also humor and clarity. (7)
⭐️: 4/5

In this reimagined story, Huck Finn and Jim the slave hightail it out of Hannibal, Mo on a raft on the Mississippi River. Plenty of adventures for these two as the Civil War is beginning and every day is a fight just to stay alive. Between the perils inherent on floating down the river, and all the men out looking for an escaped slave, Huck and Jim must stay focused on finding Jim‘s family and the promise of a free state. Beautifully written.

At that moment the power of reading made itself real clear to me. If I could see the words, then no one could control them or what I got from them. They couldn‘t even know if I was merely seeing them or reading them, sounding them out or comprehending them. It was a completely private affair and completely free and, therefore, completely subversive.

Looks like James was my top pick for January. 😊
#bookbracket @Catsandbooks

I never read Huck Finn or Tom Swayer growing up (we had a parent that liked to make sure different books were banned in middle school, this was in the early 90s in a tiny town in NJ). Anyhow I really loved this one. I really enjoyed the audio version. I really loved hearing James‘s side of the story. It‘s always difficult to confront the past history of the US but so important (especially now more than ever) to hear everyone‘s story & history.

#auldlangspine Book 8 was another excellent choice by @Zuhkeeyah

This was such a fantastic take on a classic. It was full of the adventure you expect from a Huckleberry Finn retelling, but manages to say so much more about slavery and the way a Black person was required to move through the world. While I wouldn‘t call this a light read in any way, the sense of adventure did bring a bit of levity to it I wasn‘t expecting and loved. ⬇️

Since my first introduction to Everett's earlier spy spoof Dr. No, which was just as brilliantly written, I'm so happy I finally got around to reading James. A more in-depth characterization of the supporting player to Huck Finn, James gives a more compelling story of slavery as told through the perspective of the protagonist. Here, Everett gives a better view of the Jim Crow era no shying away from bigotry, racism and violence. A must read!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ great book! The adventures of Huck Finn in the POV of his friend, Jim the slave.

Wow. Absolutely brilliant.

#1stBk'25. #25Alive

@Eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

If you didn't hate The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, you'll love James. It is refreshing to get the story from Jim's POV. I loved the idea that he and other slaves were just putting on the “slave talk“ for the benefit of white people, to appear less educated than they were. Highly recommend!

Finally, a book that lived up to the hype! The story was a retelling of Huckleberry Finn from the slave‘s point of view. I‘ll admit, I‘ve never read the original book. This inspires me to. I loved the main character, James. He seems like a man I‘d be proud to know. A good way to describe this book is “adventurous” and “tense”. I found it to be a very quick read, and highly recommended it.

Lol, heartily recommended.
James by Percival Everett
5 ⭐.

#SundayFunday
@BookmarkTavern

I can see what the hype was all about with this book. This was a great re-imagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but through Jim's point-of-view. Though this book was listed under humor, I didn't find funny. It was more tragic than anything else. What Jim and other slaves went through was just horrible. However, I loved Jim's determination to save his family. I give it 4 ⭐️.

#bookspin #3 #bookspinbingo

Next listen-

2024 National Book Award

Told from the perspective of Jim, the runaway slave, from Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (learn from my mistakes - NO NEED TO READ TO PREPARE). Would anyone like to do a buddy read? Very informal - just read and share thoughts of each chapter. No time table. Could take all year or a week.

5/5 🌟

I grew up loving the Adventures of Tom Sawyer cartoon series, so I‘m glad this book didn‘t disappoint. It‘s clever and offers a harrowing yet compelling perspective on slavery and racism through Jim‘s eyes. The writing is spot on, and the idea that slave talk was intentionally shaped to feed white people's sense of superiority is brilliant—my favourite part. Brilliant, brilliant book!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I read “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” in high school, but I didn‘t remember if lot of it (or particularly… like it? 😬) Even after brushing up on it before reading “James”, I know I‘m missing layers of brilliance with this reimagining and wish I could go to a lecture analyzing it all. It also stands on its own, though - compelling and multifaceted. 🎧