Welcome to Litsy!

The Gilbert and Ellice Islands were part of the British Empire from 1892 to 1976. The Gilberts include #kiribati and the Ellice Islands became #tuvalu, so I‘m using this book for both prompts for #readingoceania24.

Arthur Grimble was sent to the islands in 1914 as a colonial administrator and I was worried that the book would be very ‘colonial‘ but, although there were a few concerning tales, it seems as though he became very respected ⬇️

Starting in 1982, Simon Winchester traveled to the remaining parts of the UK outside the British Isles, from Tristan da Cunha to #Bermuda to the Falkland Islands (arriving there at a very interesting time). Aspects of this book are super interesting, but the book is ultimately flawed by relying so heavily on the British viewpoint and ignoring that of the locals.

#ReadingAmericas2023

Phew 😮‍💨 It‘s taken me many many weeks to get through this chunkster, at almost 900 pages it was very dense but so interesting and I felt like I learned a lot I didn‘t know about the British empire. The author made it easy to understand and broke it up nicely so the chapters weren‘t too long. A depressing read at times but I‘m glad I read about an important part of history which we don‘t get taught in school but should

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

Almost finished the tagged for another #14books14weeks @TheHeartlandBookFairy
Starting Atalanta now

What are you reading?

This is grim:

“Magellan‘s crew, confined aboard their ships, relied on worm-eaten biscuits and flying fish that landed on the decks. They slowly succumbed to scurvy, which Magellan and other officers escaped by accident. Because of their rank, they were entitled to an allocation of jam made from quince, a tart little fruit rich in vitamin C. Without realizing how or why, those who had access to quince were protected.“

#TemptingTitles Day 12: #WithATown - another recent book haul from Big Bad wolf here in Dubai.

Next read! This is my second book of the Empire trilogy. I loved Farrell‘s style in Troubles, so I have high hopes for this one

This gloomy Saturday was perfect for polishing off my #bookspin. Oof. Knowing the Raj was morally indefensible and exploitative is one thing — but Tharoor can give detailed proof. Vital to understanding the British colonization of India. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#NovemberNarrative #freedomday In 1947 Great Britain planned to cut ties w/ one of its treasured colonies the British Raj , India.Basically , they couldn‘t afford it anymore.Then began the debate of how it should be done. Partitions came down , assuming Muslims & Hindus should be divided , creating Pakistan in turn caused forced migration, protests , ethnic violence & death .A book that has been in my collection for years that I haven‘t read yet.

Set in Burma in the 1920‘s this describes British imperialism and racism in that time. A group of white men who are members of a club that really has no purpose other than drinking decide who can and can‘t join. The characters are vile but Orwell manages to inject some humour into his writing making this more of an enjoyable read than I thought