Welcome to Litsy!

Processing this morning‘s garden haul while listening to my audiobook!

I finished listening to James this week while visiting southeast Missouri, including a couple towns right along the Mississippi River, which made it hit just a bit harder. I enjoyed this book, and I also want to read it again after revisiting Huck Finn. I especially appreciated the emphasis on language.

*I received this audiobook through the Libro.fm Educator ALC program.

#CampLitsy24 #audiobook #Librofm #ALC

Cordelia needs to escape from her grief and decides to spend a summer off the coast of Ireland. She literally runs into Niall on her first day…literally. It is not love at first sight.

This is a romance story, but it‘s also a study in grief and learning to cope with memories and discover oneself again. The romance bits are extra spicy, totally NSFW. I listened to the audio, and I greatly preferred the female voice actress over the male ⬇️⬇️

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for this #ALC !

When a small group of bookstore employees are told to immediately shut down their bookstore, they decide to stay, refusing to leave to show the importance of the store to the community. The reader sees the story from the perspective of the manager Jo, as she and a half dozen staff keep the online bookstore sales running.

It‘s a fun premise. There is the power of books and their special ⬇️

It‘s unusual to read a historical fiction set in ancient Mesopotamia, and I appreciated experiencing that culture. Jomar & Zefa are a brother & sister sent to the city of Ur to find a new life when their family is facing starvation on their farm. Jomar is apprenticed to a goldsmith, and Zefa tries to find her way as a musician.

*I received this #MiddleGrade #audiobook through the #Librofm Educator #ALC program.
Audio duration: 3 hours 34 minutes

This is another wonderful historical fiction story by Bradley set during WWII. Miri is a Jewish girl living in Paris who ends up hiding in a convent school in the French countryside. While there she learns more about French history and becomes even more involved in aspects of the war.

* I received an audio version of this book through the Libro.fm Educator #ALC program.
Audio duration: 8 hours 23 minutes

#MiddleGrade #audiobook #WWII #Librofm

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for this #ALC !

With elements of mystery & romance & set in Ireland, the story follows a family, the family manor, & a secret that can tear everything from apart. I think I enjoyed listening to the story more, with an Irish voice actress doing the narration. This is the first in a series, so I‘ll be interested to see how the series progresses. A good distraction listen. #52BookClub24 #TheWordSecretInTheTitle

This historical novel is set in Berlin in 1960 to 1961 in the months leading up to raising of the Berlin Wall. I‘ve read stories set in East Berlin, but always with characters ready to escape. Instead, this one includes a son of a U.S. soldier and his cousin who has grown up in East Berlin believing most of what he has been taught. They become friends during the time when people can still go back and forth between the two sides.

I‘ve read Caroline Alexander‘s book about Shackleton‘s expedition, & I have Alfred Lansing‘s on my shelf, so I couldn‘t resist downloading this audio as well. It‘s more straightforward & scientific in a logbook sort of way than Alexander‘s, but I still found most of it fascinating as a more immediate, first person version. The part about the Aurora got long to me, but other than that, I‘m amazed by this survival story every time I read about it.

Tre is a sophomore, and his family is dealing with the recent death of his older brother. This story is about his family dealing with that grief, but it‘s also about friendship, crushes, the pressure of high school sports, and figuring out how those things work together. It‘s also about a Native American team proving themselves, and includes some action packed basketball games. 🏀

Due to language and alcohol use, I would consider this mature YA.