Welcome to Litsy!

K for A to Z challenge!

Done! That took forever 🤣 the print was very tiny! I‘m not sure how I felt about it. I didn‘t hate it 🤣 @TheAromaofBooks

This one ended up being a surprise win for me! While I didn't absolutely love it, I still found it an engaging and personable story with a likable MC. While there were definitely some of the prevalent attitudes from circa 1900, Kipling's genuine love for India and her people shines through on every page. I had no idea what to expect from this one, and while I would have probably benefited from better knowledge of the contemporary political ⬇

At first I thought this was going to be for me like The Three Musketeers- a book I could appreciate might encourage boys to read, but not my up of tea. But I‘m glad I kept going. In addition to the vivid descriptions of India, Kipling gave us very real, lovable, humans. The Llama‘s concern for Kim‘s soul; the horse trader‘s concern for Kim‘s temporal life, Kim‘s concern for everyone around him, warmed _my_ heart. Thanks @TheAromaofBooks

I listened for 2 1/2 hours and decided to call it quits. Maybe if I had tried it at another time, I would have been able to enjoy it. When I was younger I read everything I could get my hands on. But I‘m more of a mood reader these days. Sorry, folks in #RandomClassics. Maybe next month‘s selection of The Scarlet Letter will better hold my attention.

(thru ch7) - Things continue to be crazy for me at work, but I've been sticking to this one, and actually really enjoying it. Kim's an engaging character to me. By choosing a character who is white, but who has been raised as a native, Kipling gives us multiple perspectives of India and its culture. I can see why some people view this book as problematic, but at the same time I can definitely sense Kipling's genuine love for India and its people.⬇

I tried listening to the first chapter the night before last even though we were supposed to begin reading a chapter a day for the #RandomClassics #BuddyRead for September beginning today. I listened for 30 minutes and had to stop because it wasn‘t really sitting right with me. Today I listened to the entire first chapter and I‘m really intrigued. I can‘t wait to find out what happens next!

September's #RandomClassic is Kim!! I've never read this one, although I have enjoyed Kipling's Jungle Books. The first chapter sets up a lot more adventure than I was anticipating, with a random spy in the midst of it! For some reason, I always love the rhythm of Kipling's dialogue. And hopefully my COMPLETE lack of knowledge about Hinduism and Buddhism isn't an issue! 😂

September is a busy month for me, but I'll be popping in with random ⬇

No page numbers and the print is so so small 🤣 but you gotta love that title 🤣 #bestnameever #notagirl #still @TheAromaofBooks

Here's the upcoming #RandomClassics schedule in case anyone else is interested in reading along!! On September 1 I'll be starting Kim by Rudyard Kipling. I've really enjoyed Kipling's humor and storytelling in the past, so although I'm sure some aspects of this will be “problematic“ to modern readers, I'm still looking forward to it!! I read a chapter a day until the book is finished. I don't have my copy yet, but I think there may only be 15 ⬇

Just a reminder that voting is still open for our spy novel selection over on Patreon!

https://www.patreon.com/therewillbebooks

#bookspinbingo x 4
#reading1001

Well, that‘s just a book I can check off the list. #Reading1001 #tBRTakedown December 2020

I think this is the last book from the #1001books list I‘ll be reading this year, so I‘ll be tallying those stats soon.

I have been busy with virtual school the last few days and haven‘t gotten outside long enough to take an actual walk. Today, I made time and it improved my mood so much. It was all the walk and not this book. The book does not suit me as a December read and reviews are not encouraging. However, it‘s also my last book for the #Reading1001 #TBRTakedown Challenge this year, so I‘m determined to get through it.

#audiobook #1001books

This is amazing- painting on the gilt edges of the book .Watch the video in the link for full effect!
https://www.cornell.edu/video/cb-currie-fore-edge-painting-1925-rudyard-kipling-...

What‘s a baboo? What‘s a lama? (I know Dalai Lama is a title, but I still don‘t know what a lama is.) Mack Boob. Mack Bow Valley (or Mack Bow Bally?) - these are what might have been names (or what sounded like it on the audio). Thou and thee. I heard these words over and over. Beyond that, nothing registered. It just didn‘t interest me enough to keep my attention… not even a little bit.

I think you need to know what you‘re getting in to when you pick up Kim, and you need to be deeply invested in the time period, the setting, the culture, and the politics, in order to fully appreciate the story. For the rest of us, I think you can probably pick up just about everything you need by reading a few summaries and extracts online. Full review here: http://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/kim-rudyard-kipling/

Monday morning done right. #Bookmail

1. Kim

2. Mrs. Dalloway

3. Dix heures et demie du soir en été

4. Old Yeller

5. Mary Tyler Moore Show

6. Leo Tolstoy

7. Celeste Ng

8 Antoine de St. Exupery

9. Liane Moriarty

10. William Least Heat Moon

11. J. K. Rowling

12. Linda Tressel by Anthony Trollope

13. J.R.R. Tolkien

Bonus: A Celibate Season by Carol Shields and Blanche Howard

@Kaye #namegame
That was fun! Thanks.

7 Days 7 Book Covers Challenge. Post a picture of a book. No information. No explanation. No review. Just a picture of a book you love. #7days7bookcovers

My End of January book haul. I bought these the last few days of January and I'm so happy to finally have them in my possession. This is going to be it for book hauls until the season of Lent is over. I gave up book buying, so it's going to be a struggle to not buy.

#litsyclassics #litsyclassicsmatches

@Vbrrgirl @Jerdencon @scripturient @JessNevertheless @Ole @dariazeoli

New in: @erzascarletbookgasm

I'm still here. I've started a bridging course to go back to uni. It's taking up more of my time than anticipated.
I have been reading "Kim" by Rudyard Kipling, for my book club in November. It has also been a little boring so I haven't been reading it as eagerly as I normally would.

I struggled to finish this one, but glad I finished. There were "yikes, I'm pretty sure that's textbook Orientalism" passages. And other parts where Kipling actually seems to be openly mocking British colonialism more than I'd expected. And still other stretches where I was honestly just falling asleep. It's just the risk you run with some late 19th/early 20th century novels. Not my favorite but glad I stuck it out. #litsyatoz #bookishmarginalia

So I didn't plan to be reading Kim on Memorial Day weekend. A book that's been criticized as a paean to white imperialism feels like a bizarre choice for the occasion (or maybe not, ha). But at least it finally feels like the plot's picking up, and there's a good quote now and again.

I don't know if this is a blame it on me or the book, but I didn't enjoy Kim at all. I started with the hard copy and switched to audio hoping that would help but to no avail. It's rich in imperialism, stereotypes, and prejudices. It's been touted as an adventure novel and while technically they did venture, I found very little adventurous about this book. ⭐️💫
#litsyAtoZ #letterK

#Day9 was very difficult. Literally couldn't come up with any authors or characters that share my name other than this, which I have not read. Kim is as close as it gets. #riotgrams

I know I have this book but i can't find it anywhere...by the way, here's a tip...don't Google "Kim" on the Internet if you're looking for a book ?#RiotGrams #CharacterWhoSharesYourName

I enjoyed this one! A half-Irish, half-Indian boy growing up in India strikes up a relationship with a Tibetan monk and it's as sweet as it sounds. They roam about India together and Kim gets recruited for spy work. He's sly and witty and I found this to be a fun adventure. (Also, with books like this, you have to keep Cultural Relativism as your mantra...)😄69/1,001 #1001Books

#SpyNovels aren't really my thing. I could name a few spy/rogue characters that have a permanent place in my heart, but they are not strictly speaking from the spy novel genre. This is the closes I have gotten to reading one lately. Part spy novel, part coming of age story. Whatever else can be said of it, it does set the mould for spy characters in fiction. #PhotoadayNov16 @RealLifeReading

#Onewordtitles #photoadaynov16 well titles don't come shorter than this. A boys own adventure story of a mixed race orphan boy in India in the 19th century raised on the street, who becomes the servant of a wandering holy man and is eventually who is recruited into the great game against the Russians. And yes it is a book of its time with all of the stereotyping and prejudice that this implies, but if you overlook this it is a classic tale.

Well written rousing adventure and coming-of-age story with fantastic (almost all male) characters... if you can overlook the imperialist and essentialist stereotyping. Which, quite frankly, is a bit of an embarrassment. Good introduction by Edward W. Said.

Day 13. I'm away for a wedding this weekend so this photo is a bit of a cheat. Here is a partial #bookstack pic of one of my shelves😀 #augustofpages #bookphotochallenge.

Hot weather = time for India, Kipling, and the Great Game 😍