Welcome to Litsy!

I read all my #10BeforeTheEnd books, with a couple of swaps... I thought I would not get the tagged book on time, but I did, and finished it on Boxing Day 😁
Pictured is my Christmas book haul 🌲

Thank you @ChaoticMissAdventures for hosting this challenge 💙

The cafoni (peasants) of Fontamara, a village in Abruzzo, #Italy are poor and exploited, but things are going to get much worse. They have being tricked into giving up their sole access to water (a stream needed for irrigation) by the local podestà, and their rights, such as they are, are disappearing with Mussolini's rise to power. Serious politics told with humour. ⬇
#FoodandLit @Texreader @Butterfinger @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick

#wordoftheday

“While Olimpia is somewhat known in Rome, Viterbo, and other places associated with her, the stories about her are bleared with time and spiced with sex. In Viterbo it is said that Olimpia was a beautiful woman who stuck her head out of the window, tantalizing men with her lovely hair and inviting them to come up to her room…. ⬇️

My best book of February for #12Booksof2025. I love this author.

Rome was very advanced for its time in the 1650s to deal with the plague. Although they weren‘t aware fleas were the manner of spreading the disease, they took all sorts of steps like those mentioned here, which as a practical matter reduced the amount of flees spreading plague. This is a fascinating chapter.

Second #wordoftheday

“Plague had hit Rome. The Roman authorities immediately sequestered large buildings located away from the bulk of the population in which to immure plague victims, keeping them separated from those who remained healthy.”

#wordoftheday

“Several cardinals asked the pope when he would bring his family to Rome and which positions they would fill. Alexander replied that Fabio Chigi had had relatives, but Alexander VII had no family other than the church…. The cardinals were shocked at this reply and warned him that if he didn‘t show affection for his family, he would look pusillanimous, selfish, and cheap…. ⬇️

Not a lucky pick for #foodandlit
What a drag...nothing happens, there is no coherent story or theme, the number of names and characters is completely insane and all of this is normal for someone's diary, but why would anyone publish this and expect anyone else to be able to follow.
Not everything a poet writes is poetry. It really feels like a grab for money and saving on editing if any was done at all.
@Catsandbooks @Texreader

#wordoftheday

“The bride‘s grandmother was absolutely delighted, the groom‘s mother less so. Anna Colonna, who had avoided for nearly a decade marrying a blue-blooded child of hers to a parvenu Pamphili, looked on the marriage as a degradation and a necessary evil. Having Olimpia in her family would be a daily martyrdom for the haughty princess. ⬇️

This book was a lot of fun! I enjoyed the humor, the setting, and the mystery. It was fun how the MC broke the fourth wall and made jokes throughout the book. It had me chuckling many times. All the places from Italy had me wishing I was back there again, and the mystery kept going back and forth between the characters wondering who was the bad guy. I hope the second book is as much fun as well!

#foodandlit2025 #Italy @Texreader