Welcome to Litsy!

The Women‘s Prize for nonfiction list this year is superb and I encourage anyone to check out the entire longlist. Of the finalists above, I‘m pulling for Agent Zo, but I think all are worthy (except Neneh, which wasn‘t for me). The three on top are sticking with me more than the others, so I‘d really like to see one of them win. #wpnf25

I was unenthusiastic when I saw this on the #WPNF25 longlist: really, another famous dead white guy? So I dragged my feet on picking it up. But once I did, I struggled to put it down because the writing is SO good. There are some issues with some bits near the end being slotted in not quite so seamlessly, but overall I really enjoyed this.

This book is a look at Fagan‘s brutal childhood in the foster care system in Scotland, filled with every horror that can be wreaked upon a child. This makes it a difficult read, of course, but it‘s very well done and vital for exposing the deep inadequacies in care systems and mental health care. A worthy presence on the #WPNF25 longlist.

Last but one from the #wpnf25 longlist. (Half of Tracker to go)

This started off well, but became quite repetitive. I also don‘t feel that the author achieved what she set out to do. At the start she said that newly discovered papers have refuted the negative review of Gauguin, but didn‘t really demonstrate that to me.

I didn‘t know much about him prior to this - other than that I understood that he was a colonialist who liked young girls. ⬇️

I was so excited when I saw this on the #WPNF25 longlist because Vikings, but I ended up being a little disappointed. It focuses on grave goods and exploring the culture through them but never quite pulled me in.

Think this says everything. #wpnf25.

Glad I got it from the library and not bought it.

"... the personal, intimate parts of people's lives matter every bit as much as the famous, dramatic, narrative defining ones."

Another wonderful selection from the #wpnf25 long list. An interesting, engaging history of the Viking Age told through everyday objects and everyday people. Barraclough's narration is excellent, I highly recommend the audio!

I loved Dalton‘s memoir of her time with a hare. I loved her respect for the wild creature and her earnest determination to both accommodate the hare in her home but keep herself at a distance in order to build trust. I loved the relationship between wild creature and human—something that‘s been written about often in memoirs at the present (Me and Alfie, etc). I‘m not sure this will win the Women‘s Prize (NF), but I wouldn‘t be sad if it did.

#wpnf25

#52bookclub25 #audiobookhasmultiplenarrators

I can see why this is on the shortlist, but it wasn't particularly outstanding for me.

I was looking forward to this one and am a little disappointed by it. It tells the story of a series of murders but the organization isn‘t great, making it disjointed. It also tells it to some degree from a social justice lens, which I loved, but I think it would have been better if that was the focus and the murders and attitudes around them were illustrative. #WPNF25