Welcome to Litsy!

Both heartwarming and heartbreaking.Wilkerson weaves the story of the great migration with the story of 3 families who were part of it. People risked everything for the chance to escape the south and seek a better life north, east ,and west. Of course the new destinations were not without racism, but to get relief from relentless harassment of Jim Crow, a blessing.I cheered for their successes and felt deeply their failures.Highly recommended

Jack Delano‘s photograph of migrants on their way from Florida to New Jersey, 1940. PHOTO: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Very comprehensive investigation of the Great Migration of Blacks living in the segregated south between 1935 and 1975. It combines three personal accounts with lots of research data.

Too many #chunksters at once!maybe #24B4Monday might help! I‘m certainly not going outside except early morning or after dark since it will be 110 degrees today!I also post the non cuddling Lying Cat for @Meaw_catlady to say Saga is so good.

I am off today and am planning to make a dent in this book.

It is very interesting, but I recently just didn‘t have the headspace to deal with this topic, but I think today will be a good day for it.... also, it‘s due back at the library, so I better get cracking.

When you wake up too early on #caterday it pays to start slow and read with a buddy!

Listened to this one - at 1.5x - and every second of it was a gorgeous gift of a narrator beautifully performing a writer‘s fine words. Important, of course, and formerly somewhat overlooked as a movement of human beings within the country - and also beautiful and alternately depressing, terrifying, redemptive, and fantastic. So good.

My ebook hold from the library just came through been waiting on this one for awhile now !

FINALLY starting this epic and important book of #history. I‘m starting it as an #audiobook, but we also own a print and ebook copy.

#litsywalkers🚶🏼‍♀️ I love that Olive trees grow their own shrub.

Starting this one tonight. I‘m prepared to feel so many emotions with this book. #OtherSuns

Nonfiction #marchwrapup

Usually I follow the same rating system as Gretchen Rubin: if I care about a book enough to finish it, then it‘s a pick! This month, things were different. I did not like How to break up with your phone (too obvious), Adnan‘s Story (too repetitive), The Skin above my Knee (not enough about music).

I‘m really glad to have spent time reading The Warmth of Other Suns and Sisters in Law ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nonfiction:
Warmth of Other Suns

Fiction:
Dreamland Burning
Rainbirds

#bestbooksofar2019

As an American, you have inklings of things like this and then you read them in black & white. No matter how much history you study, you will always come across new details of the atrocities.

Glad my 20 pages is done for the day. I don‘t think I could read anymore right now.

Blood boiling.

#OtherSuns

These stats really put things in perspective. Even if the first two events had lasted as long as the six decades of the Great Migration, they could not have come close in comparison. And yet I recall learning about the Gold Rush in school but not this.

#OtherSuns

It took me 26 minutes to read 11 pages today but there was lots I wanted to read over again. It‘s early but I think I‘m going to enjoy this book and the writing style.

#OtherSuns

I did not know the title was inspired by a Richard Wright poem. Coincidentally I just started Eight Men by Wright today as well.

#OtherSuns

Just picked up from library and getting ready to dive in. At 538 pages, I feel the need to get a jump start on the #OtherSuns #buddyread in case I get bogged down. Hoping for 20 pages a day to stay on track.

My paper copy came in at the library. Should pick it up and start on Saturday.

#OtherSuns #BuddyRead If anyone else wants to join in let @Librarybelle know!

@Hooked_on_books @TheBookHippie @megnews ...are you still interested to read this together? What if we said to read this during the month of April and check in periodically with the group? It‘s well over 500 pages, so I know at least with my schedule I‘ll need at least a month to read it. We could use #OtherSuns for posting??

This book has been on my #tbr list forever! Early 20th century, a mass migration occurred...African American families left the South and headed north or west. Cities like Detroit found their demographics change rapidly, and in some ways overnight. But, why? Wilkerson explores this, based on her family‘s experience. I‘ve seen nothing but positive reviews on this book, and I really, really should read this soon! #Detroit67 #TimbitTunes

Not a fan of getting on a plane at 0600 on a Sunday morning...but I have this gem with me. This one is so so good. It‘s a commitment at almost 600 pages but definitely worth it. #airplanereads 📚✈️

This is an excellent story of something I knew nothing about. I learned a lot. The author told the stories of the three central individuals so well, it really brought them to life. I was on the edge of my seat, angered, heartbroken, it was an emotional journey. #diversespines #diversereads #buddyread #readwomen #blackhistorymonth

Excellent narrative nonfiction that chronicles the Great Migration by focusing one 3 personal stories. The differences of the racial and economic injustices that both the North and the South has/have were really interesting. Concerning is the parallels from 1914-1970 and the attitudes toward immigrants and POC today. Well written, definitely a must read to help understand our history!

I love three day weekends! I feel like I have an extra day just for reading. Today I want to make some progress on this one...it is phenomenal and so beautifully written (and so long!). I‘m also reading As Long As We Both Shall Live which, at only 20% in has me completely intrigued about what's going to happen next. Happy Monday and Happy Reading 🤗📚

Week 3 #buddyread with @spinesvines is done. This book and the author really brings the stories of the migration to life. #diversespines
Listening while shoveling snow and feeding the birds. We got another 2 feet this weekend. Enjoying the sun and break before the next storm.

I listened to this audio and enjoyed the narration. Overall, it is a very informative and important work and I would say it is worth everyone‘s time and attention. My criticism is that the author is somewhat repetitive and therefore the book felt long.

This book has been on my radar since it came out in 2010. Lately I have been hearing it referenced and discussed on several podcasts and radio interviews. I picked it up at my favorite independent bookstore this weekend. It‘s time.

Listened to week two of the @spinesvines Instagram #buddyread today while cleaning and then shoveling 4 ft of snow off my car from this weekend‘s storm. The stories are agonizing as you can feel the emotion of the three main characters as they migrate out of the South. #diversespines

I have two very different books going at the moment - enjoying both very much! 🤗📚

Help! Did anyone else listen to the Audible book version of this? Does anyone have a physical copy of the book that they could check for me?
I was listening to this when suddenly, at chapter 42, Ken Burns seemed to cut in with an intro, and then the story went backwards in time and seemed to start over at chapter 43.
Any insight would be appreciated. 😊

Reading this all month with an Instagram #buddyread for #blackhistorymonth - finished week 1 today. It‘s so good, the author is an amazing story teller, reads like historical fiction. #diversespines
Hosted by @spinesvines

So glad I finally got to this one. The gorgeous writing and wonderful characters made it a joy to read, even though the subject matter was often so difficult - deep pain, struggle, and injustices that still reverberate. But affirming and hopeful, too, and Wilkerson‘s list of just some of the famous descendants of the Great Migration was pretty mind-blowing. Robin Miles‘ narration was brilliant as ever.

1. Flo Kennedy, Sojourner Truth, the Obama‘s, Harriet Tubman, Marsha P. Johnson, John Lewis, All the Buffalo Soldiers, Alice Ball.
2. Nnedi Okorafor, Roxane Gay, Fredrick Douglas, Jamaica Kincaid
3. The Underground Railroad, #metoo, Harlem Renaissance
4. History, fantasy, magical realism
5. History of inventions, stonewall, see question 3.
#blitsyhistorymonth

#audiowalking
Beautiful snowy morning. I am enjoying the start of this audiobook 😊

In bed for the night (it‘s only 7:30 🤣) and craving some nonfiction.

4.5 ⭐️ - too long.
That said, it was damn near perfect. Wilkerson mixes anecdotes with evidence. She shares the dreams and drudgery of people escaping the South through the Great Migration.
It‘s worth reading in its own right. But it‘s more compelling now, with eyes on our Southern border. It‘s worth noting that America wasn‘t hospitable to its own citizens. But despite the fear-mongering and change that came, things turned out fine anyway.

22+ hours???
115 chapters???
I may be biting off more than I want to chew 🤔😕😮

#NonfictionNovember

A meticulously researched and brilliantly written account of the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities between 1915 to 1970 in search of a better life. The book alternates between a historical account of the facts and a narrative nonfiction account of the lives of three unique individuals: Ida May, George and Robert. I don‘t give out 5 stars very often; this book earned every one of them.

I‘m tickled Shonda Rhimes will produce a film adaptation of this book!

This book is required reading. It contains American history that is often overlooked. Isabel Wilkerson takes on the subject in a way that is engrossing, enlightening and unforgettable. I flagged many passages to revisit in the future. READ.THIS.BOOK
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 #isabelwilkerson #thewarmthofothersuns #twoos #blacklit #africanamericanlit

They were essentially the same people except for the color of their skin, and many of them arrived into these anonymous receiving stations at around the same time, one set against the other and unable to see the commonality of their communal plight.

The numbers put forward by the census are believed by some historians to be an underestimate. Unknown numbers of migrants who could pass for white melted into the white population once they left and would not have been counted in the Migration.

Looking forward to reading this for my July BuddyRead!!