Welcome to Litsy!

Repost for @BarbaraBB

Hi all, the brackets for the #ToB25 are now live: https://www.tournamentofbooks.com/the-2025-shortlist

I‘ve been wondering if you‘d like to play along again in March and come to our own winner of the shortlist?
Please let me know if you‘d be interested, then I‘ll organize it again.

I am tagging some ToB regulars but everyone is welcome to join of course. If you‘d like to be (un)tagged, please let me know as well!

The tagged book was a stellar read in July and will certainly vie for one of my best reads of the year

#12booksof2024 @Andrew65

I have read 7; currently listening 🎧 to The Wedding People and eBooking Irena Rey. I have The Safekeep ready for next audiobook and am on hold SOON for eB Beautyland. Intermezzo is #55 🤣 , Orbital #3, Ministry of Time #32, Blue Sisters #13, Colored Television #9, Bury Your Gays #6

#ToBLongList #ToB2025_LongList

Yeehaw! 🤠 Here we go with the mad scramble!

For 50+ days, Constantinople defended itself and its 1200+ years of history as the eastern-most bastion of Christendom against the Turkish Ottomans‘ assault. This is a very detailed account of the siege and battle, and some of the aftermath. Sultan Mehmet was only 21 when he felled the city that had withstood many previous attempts. I suspect age aided his endurance. But he was also a young military genius and had extraordinary control of the ⬇️

The author of the tagged book describes the sources he most trusted to write this historical account of the siege and fall of Constantinople, Doukas being one of them. How crazy that Doukas‘s account stops mid-sentence!

“If there is any moment at which it is possible to recognize a modern sensibility in a medieval event, it is here in the account of reactions to the news of the fall of Constantinople. Like the assassination of Kennedy or 9/11 it is clear that people throughout Europe could remember exactly where they were when they first heard the news.”

I realize how inappropriate this is but in the chapter when Constantinople fell, I had to play this song. Now everyone will have this song stuck in your head. Sorry, not sorry. It is a good song.

#two4Tuesday Thanks @TheSpineView for the tag

1) Easy, stripes. I have some very nice work blouses with subtle stripes. Hard to imagine being subtle with spots

2) Tagged. Checked out from Libby. It‘s an interesting but slow read. I‘ll likely have to renew my loan

Constantinople in the early 15th century. It had declined quite a bit by then, especially after its sacking by the Venetians.

I‘m also reading this one for the #comfortreadathon. Just switching around what I‘m reading depending on my mood at any particular moment. @BookwormAHN

My next ebook. I read Cloud Cuckoo Land, which in part was about the siege of Constantinople, so this one looked good to me. So far, the writing style is excellent