Welcome to Litsy!

Marion is born a conjoined twin in Addis Ababa. Family life gets off to a very rough start and from there we follow his life, to adulthood and onwards to New York. The joy of this book is the family love and complexities, against the background of troubled Ethiopia, its own complexities, and its medical world. In summary, I loved this when I first read it 10 years ago, and I then loved it again. Be warned, it will break your heart.

#WithPhysician
#ItTakesAllKinds

@Eggs
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

#readingwithcats is one of the best things in life. 🥰 It just feels wrong now to read my #kindle without Kindle Kitty on my lap. He‘s my favorite reading accessory.

Debra!! Thank you so much for my birthday surprise!! I love the bookmark and the toffee smells delicious!! The book!! I can‘t wait to read it!! Thank you so much!! ❤️📚🎈🤗

#LitsyLove

#Movie2BookRecs @TheSpineView
Movie: Beau is Afraid

I finally got around to reading this while on vacation. This is a big book but worth every page. This book is definitely one of my top favorites! Why did I wait so long!

I. Loved. This. Book. I loved it so MUCH.

Although it started slow and the medical terms slowed me down, the Africa history and the beautiful writing made that all up. My eyes were moist at some point when reading. Enjoy this book very much😘😘

This book tells the life story of Marion Stone…but it does it in a way where it is just dribbling crumbs of info along. It felt a bit slow at times, although I found the characters & their lives interesting. I didn‘t feel I really was excited about the story until like 80% through. It was interesting and I learned a lot about Ethiopia and the the many different people from I did that migrated there.

A #generational story that I‘ll probably get around to reading one day. #maymontage

#AlphabetGame Thanks for the tag @robinb Easily an all time favorite book of mine ♥️ Hi, Misty!!!!

A really engrossing story #alphabetgame #letterc

It took me a MONTH to get through this audiobook. It definitely put me in a slump and will probably set me back on overall # of books read this year. However, it was a beautiful story with complex characters, and I‘m glad it read it. The redemption and love, mixed with bitterness and betrayal, made for a moving story. I would recommend, but just make sure you have a lot of time! 😂

Reading this for #readingafrica2022. Enjoying it so far. Set in Ethiopia.

#12booksof2021 #12booksof21

March was the month where, thanks to #FoodAndLit , I fell in love with Ethiopia in general and this book specifically.

My #Top21of21
Cutting For Stone was my favorite the rest are in no particular order. Looking at these I can see how all of the great challenges like #FoodAndLit #PemberLittens and #ReadingAsia have influenced my reading year. Honestly I just kind of want to hug the books on this list.
I rated a lot of re-reads 5 stars this year but I left them off this list
The last two weeks of the year are typically my best reading weeks so this list will change

Stopped at my library and picked these up to read over long weekend
Cutting for Stone and Project Hail Mary

Hanging out with my best friend. We visited a used book store . I got 14 books for under $60. Lonesome Dove is for my mom for Christmas. Memoirs is a better edition than my mass market paperback copy. The Winter People is autographed.
#bookhaul

Made it through this one. The story and plot were fine; the prose was exhausting. Verghese could easily have cut out 1/3 of the text by removing the tedious medical details. I found myself skimming after awhile.

“The key to your happiness is to own your slippers, own who you are, own how you look, own your family, own the talents you have, and own the ones you don‘t. If you keep saying your slippers aren‘t yours, then you‘ll die searching, you‘ll die bitter, always feeling you were promised more.” (Pg. 286)

I love a good limerick. 😁

My morning started early with this book set in #Ethiopia. I love the pace of the story and I can find myself settling into it. 💚
#currentlyreading

A stormy few days has brought some massive swell 🌊 But we have a beautiful day forecast ☀️ and I‘m finally getting round to reading this one after being on my TBR for far too long!

A medical masterpiece. Lives dedicated to surgery to help the poor in Ethiopia and each other. It is just brilliant. Marion is an incredible narrator who tells his parents' love story and his own relationships between a girl who could be called his sister and his beloved, yet infuriating twin. I want to reread it asap. Trigger Warning: There is a graphic chapter of female circumcision/mutilation. #FoodandLit #Ethiopia @Texreader @Catsandbooks

Started this one today
#FoodandLit

This was a beautifully narrated story! A lot of it was about medical procedures, but somehow the narration made it seem more informative than overwhelming. This was a great pick for #FoodAndLit this month.

I made Doro Wot (chicken stew), Atkilt Wot (cabbage and potatoes), and Himbasha (cardamom bread with raisins) for dinner the other night and it was all good.

Thanks @Butterfinger and @Texreader for hosting this great reading challenge!

This was such a beautiful book. At 23 hours it was longer than most books I listen to, but every minute was worth it. #FoodAndLit

Loved cooking up a feast while listening to this audiobook. I made chicken in tej sauce from the pictured cookbook along with the Ethiopian honey bread that @TheBookHippie posted a few weeks ago. The Berbere wasn‘t as spicy as I feared, and the honey bread was delicious- sweet enough to be a dessert. I am really enjoying this challenge! #FoodAndLit

Finally finished my #foodandlit pick for Ethiopia. I liked the complex characters and I learned a lot about Ethiopia history and culture and medicine. The pacing, length, and the graphic detailed explanation of medical procedures made it a slow read though. @Butterfinger @Texreader

Pick up line reading! Kids are not officially back in school yet, but they are doing state standardized testing in person. I missed this reading time.

Lazy Sunday reading for #foodandlit. I know the cookies aren‘t from Ethiopia but I am willing to make sacrifices. @Butterfinger @Texreader

This is my plan for #FoodAndLit #Ethiopia this month. So far, I really like this book!
@Butterfinger @Texreader

This book was epic, though maybe with one to many grand gestures. The author thanks John Irving in the acknowledgments and I can see the influence - though Vergehse is much less quirky. Orphaned twins grow up in mission hospital in Addis Ababa in ‘60s & ‘70s. Definitely a good book for an introduction to Ethiopian/Eritrean history. The medical details were a little too much for me (wimp). #booked2021 book with doctor/nurse.

Masterpiece ~ I enjoyed this book so much!! Details about medicine, cultures, religion, spirit, conflict, love & family were woven together perfectly. 💜

This book goes to show that I really need to read the amazing books that are sitting on my shelves. I have had this book for so long and just never gotten around to it. I saw a post about how good it is, so I decided to pick it up. Gorgeous writing and characters! I loved this book so much. The connections between the characters and the backdrop completely drew me in. I felt like I was there. Be prepared, because many points made me emotional.

#quote #priests #lol

#bookquotes #bookquote #quotes #quote

Sitting in the shade in a parking lot waiting for a new windshield to be installed… #Covid

#quote

#quote

#quote #cuttingforstone #reread #growingup

Surprise mail from an awesome friend 🙃

#Smoothie bowl, #coffee, and re-reading a favorite for #bookclub on the #porch

Thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful story! Beautiful and painful and unexpected, and it ended just in the right place. Loved it.

This concludes my June #bookspin, albeit a few days too late 😅
@TheAromaofBooks

Reading while listening to and smelling the lovely summer rain, and thoroughly enjoying all of the above ❤ Hope you guys are having a good Sunday as well!

My sleepstack prompt from IG:
🌌A book that has your DREAM bookish crush: THE PRINCESS DIARIES by Meg Cabot
🌌A book that you've been SLEEPING on: CUTTING FOR STONE by Abraham Verghese
🌌A book that you're DREAMING of being adapted: A LITTLE LIFE by Hanya Yanigihara
🌌A book that has you SLEEPLESS because you can't stop thinking about it: SHANTARAM by Gregory David Roberts.
🌌A book that put you to sleep: NINE PERFECT STRANGERS by Liane Moriarty.

Had I read this book before lawschool, I would have desired more instead to study medicine. Cutting for Stone is an epic, heroic, vastly entertaining work of art set in the tumultuous times of mid-century Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. With emphaty and wit, Dr. Verghese has a knack for creating characters and scenes that stick in the mind, mixing humor and pathos. A grandeur read! 👏

After years of reading books I didn‘t like I made a rule that if I do not like a book I will bail by page 73, arbitrary I know. But this was for IRL book club so I stuck with it and I‘m so glad I did. This was wonderful. One of the rare few that improved and completely took me in. Not all book club books have fared well. #sunset #magicalmay @Eggs

This book is every bit as good as everyone says it is! Beautiful writing, propulsive story, memorable characters. ❤️❤️❤️

Glad I finally read it thanks to March #bookspin.