Welcome to Litsy!

This is such an inspiring story of a boy in Malawi whose family can‘t afford to send him to school. He discovers the library and through research and trial and error, he builds a windmill in town to create electricity, starting with just one bulb so he could study at night. I‘ve had this book on my TBR for so many years! I‘m glad I finally read it ❤️

I didn‘t know what to expect from this book in this genre I rarely read, but it surprised me half way through when we finally learn the identity of the woman in the title. I probably should have known sooner, but I honestly didn‘t know this woman‘s history, or anyway the version of it in this novel. Abuse, intrigue, espionage, escape, stardom, WWII, invention, misogyny. Not a lot has changed, but this book has made me want to learn more. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I read this one as a possible birthday gift for the nephew who loves The Big Book of John Deere Tractors. JD, himself, was no longer living when JD, the company, started making tractors. John was a blacksmith who invented the first steel plow and later founded Deere & Company.

Finished February 16, 2025.

4 ⭐ t‘s great to see books about women inventors. Most women‘s inventions especially 100 years ago were often credited to men. In this, we had a woman who was tired of spending hours at the sink and tired of her dishes, chipping, and scratching. Through trials and tribulation, she came up with a machine, patented it, and made sure that hotels. schools, etc. could have a faster way to do dishwashing.

4 ⭐ This is a simple biography of Rube Goldberg for kids and adults alike. Goldberg was known mostly for his cartoons and fantastic machines used to do the simplest things. Goldberg went from being a person to being a verb and now kids and college students alike in compete to build Goldberg machines. This is both in honor of his memory, but also to kick a brain into high gear. This book is illustrated by someone

Tells the (fictionalized) story of famous actress Hedy Lamarr, highlighting her abusive marriage to an arms dealer during the dawn of WWII and her lesser known inventions which led to things like WiFi! Quite a life. I do wish there was more substance in the second half after she flees Austria. It felt rushed and I wanted to learn more about her incredible mind. But overall a great read.

Thought it would be fun to go from the chunkster to the shortest book on my TBR. The Story of the Saxophone. Excellent story and illustrations, about the inventor of the saxophone, Adolphe Sax.
@wanderinglynn
#2025offmyshelfreadingchallenge

Fantastic! Even as a music teacher, I didn‘t know all those things about Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone. I think they should have put an illustration of Adolphe Sax on the cover, though, not Sidney Bechet, since the book was all about the inventor. Super cool that the inside covers of the book have illustrations of famous saxophonists!

Great children‘s book about inventions!

BUSY day yesterday but I made time to open my #LittleChristmasSwap just before bed. @CSeydel ~ I am thrilled with used books. I always add my books to my Little Free Library after reading them. The chocolates 🍫, though, won‘t be shared. @bookish_wookish Thank you for a great swap to cap my holidays!