Welcome to Litsy!

Honourable mention to A Bullet In The Ballet by Caryl Brahms and S. J. Simon

Wendell has to cope with the mental deterioration of Frank, his partner of 60+ years, after a stroke. The habits inculcated at the beginning of their relationship, when it was absolutely necessary for them to keep it a secret, still rule their lives.

Richly descriptive, which is sometimes a good thing, and sometimes a bad thing, since Wendell is a taxidermist so we get detailed descriptions of animal injuries and the taxidermical processes.

#coffeeandabook

I started this yesterday but am wondering if it is a wise choice for airplane reading. I suspect I might get a bit weepy later.

LORD knows how long he's been lying out there: flat on his back in the middle of the vegetable garden.

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

“And when we‘re gone, nobody will remember any of it. Nobody will see our photos and marvel that we, too, were young once; nobody will wonder about the things we never told them.” One of my picks for Pride. Griffin‘s story is a devastatingly beautiful portrait of a marriage before gay liberation. The ending wrecked me. There‘s taxidermy, too! I wish this 2015 work would‘ve received as much attention as Mostly Dead Things.

Squeezing in a few pages before I start work 📚

I‘ve had lots going on lately... Tea & a book were the perfect escape 💗

#loveneedsnodisguise #NUYear
At the beginning of 2017 i listened to shawn on reading envy recommend this brilliant book- the story of two elderly men confronting their mortality at the end of their life together in which they have had to hide their love. One of my 5* readsof last year.

#TBRtemptation post. Thanks @bookriot! This one caught my eye

"It's the story of a gay couple in their 80s, who fell in love just after WWII in rural North Carolina. In order to share a life together, they chose to cut themselves off from the world. When Frank has a stroke and Wendell is left to care for him, they're forced to confront what they've given up for each other. It's a complicated, nuanced, and searingly honest portrait of a marriage."

This is shaping up to be a great romance. The story is so simple- how these two men met in the 40s, and how they have grown to be an old married couple. The big difference is that they've had to hide their love for over 50 years. The author clearly cares for these two- the writing is funny and tender, even though Frank's a bit of a curmudgeon.

Just started Hide for school, and I'm flying through it. I don't normally enjoy contemporaries, but this one is really good 🙂
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#reading #book #bookobsession #booklover #booknerd #bookaholic #bookdragon #bookflatlay #flatlay #booknerdigan #biblophile #instareads #instabooks #summerreads #bookish #reader #bookishfeatures #bookishfeed #bookphotography #bibliophilefeatures #bookcommunity #litsyreads

Finished 11, Bailed on 4
Favorites: Hide by Matthew Griffin and Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

February was so-so as far as reading goes, but I think March is going to be amazing! (Pardon the rushed sketch.)

I loved this story about two elderly men who have lived together and loved each other on an isolated farm in north carolina for some 50+ years. As Franks physical and mental health declines they are forced to confront society. Poignant, funny and beautifully written. Taking it back to library on a windy half day off work to excitedly pick up Homegoing by Yaa Gyassi.

I am really enjoying this beautiful book. It is so full of poignancy and humour and captures brilliantly the nature of long term relationships. This little bit is where wendell is vacuming and finds franks fruit cake wrappers in his stuffed deers ear- its the 'trying hard not to smile ' which is wonderful as frank descends into dementia but that spark remains - love it! - 50 pages to go but don't want it to end.

Ha- try and get photo right way up!

It hasn't taken me long to like these two men who are facing old age and the possibility that their long life together will become public. A moving first chapter and im now learning how their love developed. i hope it all ends well, great story and excellent writing - thanks reading envy for this find

Incredible work by first time author! It explores a relationship between two gay men in their lives living apart from society. The writing surpasses all of the gaps (which I just treated like an episode of Black Mirror), and it is a must read for all persons, gay or straight. Written well, interesting character dynamic, and incredible symbolism for what it means to be alive.

"He stopped and stared at me, eyebrows reared in shock and dismay. That man could raise his eyebrows a hundred different ways. Took me a long time to learn them all, but I did. Every single one."

"A cold front had rumbled through in the night, left its rain behind in wide, deep puddles that reflected the first autumn sky of the year, the kind of blue so startling children demand a reason."

The system is down! ☹️ This is my Book of the Month selection machine! At least I have a wonderful book to devour in consolation.

Some more sunset reading and so many beautiful passages in this book.

I am loving the narrator's voice.

I'm starting this one on a gorgeous day. It was recommended by @shawnmooney via the @ReadingEnvy podcast. I've had it from the library for a few days and simply couldn't resist reading it any longer!

Listening to @ReadingEnvy while packing for the weekend. You have a great reading voice @shawnmooney !

The best gay novel I've read in many a year, capturing in perfect prose the confines of the closet and the love that, however distorted, grew there between two southern men from just after WWII to the present, them barely giving a nod to - barely breathing the slightest bit easier after - Stonewall or anything that followed. It's also a moving depiction of aging. A marvelous debut.

Today's Amazon haul. Hide is completely @shawnmooney fault, he blogged about it last week. And of course amazon's so helpful related items led to most of the rest of it. Too many choices, as always, but lots of good looking #queerbooks.

BOOKMAIL
Just had to have the hardcover edition of this new gay novel, which I originally heard about on The Readers podcast. It's supposed to be a touching decades-long love story between two closeted men in the deep South. Can't wait to read it!

Words cannot capture how beautiful and delicate this book is in describing a love that was hidden from the world, but beyond present between two human beings. If you read one book this summer, make it "Hidden" by Matthew Griffin.

Really unique story that I haven't heard told before. One that I think needs to be told, even though it's heart-wrenching.