Welcome to Litsy!

Love this novel about recovery from addiction, trying to find your place in the world, and choosing life. It is entertaining and surprising. Loved the audio book. Highly recommend. 4 🌟

Family, siblings, deathdrive, dreams. Shifting 1st person POV centered on orphaned Iranian-American poet Cyrus Shams. Obsession with martyrdom and “a death that matters” masking a search for meaning and “goodness.” Open and heartfelt. Saw the twist coming, but it still did its work. 2024

10 “Cyrus didn‘t write so much as he drank about writing”

114 “It‘s possible, he thought, that the experience of gratitude was itself a luxury”

I should love this book. It‘s historical fiction set in Scotland that centers women. Sounds fabulous! But, I‘m just not connecting with it. I gave it almost 40% and that‘s enough. Not sure if it‘s me or the book, though, so don‘t let me dissuade you.

Fantastic! What an exciting voice! Really enjoyed his immigrant perspective and the unforeseen plot twist. Appreciated the happy ending :)

Happy International Women's Day! 🩷🩷🩷

On this day (and many many others) I tend to think about my favorite female author ever, Virginia Woolf! 🥰 Her work has come to mean so much to me over the years, particularly her book, Mrs. Dalloway!

“Every year a person is alive they pass the date that they‘re going to die but they don‘t know it.”

This was an incredible listen. The writing is absolutely gorgeous, and the narration for this is audiobook was spot on. #bookspinbingo #bingo

I really this novel about a man sentenced to read aloud to the elderly & disabled. Wonderful, eccentric characters & a great sense of place in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The narrator‘s love & frustration with his home town infuse the story & add texture. His struggles feel real, including the backdrop of violence. His growth & relationships with other characters create tension & propel us forward with delightful poetic references woven in. Masterful.

I‘ve read all of her collections, and this is probably one of her darkest, and best. A bonafide Southern-fried Winesburg, Ohio, for the 21st century. It‘s certainly my favorite book cover of all her works.

Bit of snow on the daffies this weekend!

This is my favorite book so far this month! It‘s a beautifully sad story about feeling alienated yet finding those who care told through a unique lens.

Adina is an alien born to a human mother. She communicates with her home world by fax and through her dreams. She finds a connection with a brother and sister but often feels uncomfortable in other situations. A wonderful coming-of-age novel.