Welcome to Litsy!

Found this in a 2nd hand bookshop & couldn‘t resist after Family Roundabout. Tilly enters service as a 15 year old in the late C19th and watches as the family she serves grows up and grows old. Unhappy marriages feature again & there is a degree of contempt for the social norms of the monied classes. Tilly has more sense & more empathy than all of her so called betters. I‘ll be looking out for more Richmal Crompton.

This book had all the ingredients that I should enjoy, but somehow they just didn't work here. Miss Carter is a middle-aged woman, never married, who lives by herself in a small flat in London and works for the censor's office during WWII. Through a series of events, she finds herself in possession of an ifrit (i.e. genie). Part of the reason this book didn't quite work for me was that the ifrit's magic never really made sense to me. Apparently ⬇

I tried not to, but I‘ll have to bail on this one (gave it 100 pages). Perhaps it‘s the timing. The plot is promising, the characters have potential but the writing feels clichéd and unnatural. It maybe unrelated (or not) but I read two pages of Ann Patchett and I can‘t stop thinking about that book now. #currentlynotreading

A 35-year-old writer moves in with an 85-year-old spitfire, recently widowed, right before the pandemic. He keeps a journal of their experience.

The relationship between Ben & Winnie forms s.l.o.w.l.y. — which makes the end result all the more satisfying. From my lived experience, it reminded me of having a rabbit…that slow build of trust from a creature who is markedly independent & willful in spite of *or because of* her vulnerability.👇🏻

I really enjoyed these two easy reads about a forty-something, overweight, and unhappy man who stumbles on a way that may help change his life. Time travel. These two books should of been combined into one, but since they are both offered on Kindle Unlimited that wasn't a big deal to me. It was refreshing to read something not in my usual genres. Exactly what I needed. Bonus was that it made me grateful that my marriage is what it is. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I mostly read nonfiction in April, so this was a hard choice.
#SallyBedellSmith #ElizabethTheQueen #QueenElizabeth #history #england #uk #UnitedKingdom #nonfiction #ReadingBracket #BookBracket2025 #BookBracket

Recent acquisition:

📖 The Eagle and the Hart: The Tragedy of Richard II and Henry IV by Helen Castor

I liked this book enough that it‘s tough to review here. There is just too much I want to talk about. Shakespeare, Richard II, king at 10, riding out amongst the mob of the Peasants Revolt in 1381, his disinterest in his country, and quest for absolute power. Henry IV, who usurped the throne, was his cousin, the same age, and loyal until he felt threatened. Also - Richard was never insane. An awesome book on the Women‘s Prize longlist.