Welcome to Litsy!

Perfect for readers with a short attention span. Every page was captivating.

A remarkable book based on the true life story of Valentino Achak Deng, who left his home in Sudan at age 7 by force and walked hundreds of miles to find safety. Very sad, but written in a way that celebrates the tenacity and strength of a boy who becomes a man. Reading it reinforced my gratitude for all that I have. I alternated between reading the printed book and listening to the audio. The narrator on the audiobook, Dion Graham, was fantastic!

Current audio+physical book combination. #mttbr #readingafrica2022

Another book about The Lost Boys, who came from #Sudan to the US after years of living in refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya. This is Achak‘s story, written down by Dave Eggers, who is so good in writing such biographies (Zeitoun, Monk of Mokha). The past and the present, a laugh and a tear: this book has it all.

#ReadingAfrica2022 🇸🇩 #52BooksIn52weeks #Over500PagesLong #Booked2022 #TitleRepeatsItself #19822022 #2006
#pop #PalindromicTitle

WeeklyForecast 11/22

I started the big What is the what for both #ReadingAfrica2022 and the first quarter of #Booked2022. In between I‘ll be buddyreading Tirra Lirra, a gift by @CarolynM , with @squirrelbrain !

I got this in the mail today. The book not Ms. Ethel 😻. Has anyone read the book yet? Has anyone read anything from this author before?
#litsylovecats

Trying to get through this audiobook and am having a hard time. Unsure about what‘s fiction and what‘s real. I‘m always listening with a super critical ear and find myself extremely skeptical of a white guy from Boston filling in the blanks about things, people, moments in Sudan and Atlanta. I‘m not saying that his research wasn‘t extensive or that he didn‘t approach w care, I just...
Maybe autobiographical novels aren‘t for me.

I read this many years ago but coming across this Xerox‘d copy of one page, the quote jumps out and makes my heart shudder still.
“...the pain is not great, but the symbolism is disagreeable.”
#humankind #beboth #endracism

"...and it is my right and obligation to send my stories into the world, even if silently, even if utterly powerless. "

“I will not wait to love as best as I can. We thought we were young and that there would be time to love well sometime in the future. This is a terrible way to think. It is no way to live, to wait to love.”

Book: What is the What by Dave Eggers - Everyone should read this book.
Author: Wells, H. G.
Movie: Wedding Singer, The
TV show: WKRP in Cincinnati
Food: Wheat Thins
#manicmonday #letterW @JoScho

Not a spooky book, but it was my turn for my awesome #LGPOG book club, and I‘m so glad!

The whole concept of this book is fascinating: a fictionalized autobiography about a real Lost Boy of Sudan. I really enjoyed Valentino‘s story, and the way his experiences in Africa are told parallel to his experiences in the US. Heartbreaking, funny, and inspiring. I listened to part on audio, and the narrator was amazing.

Great pick, Georgia! ❤️

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

I read this book as a part of my postal book club (#litsygoesposalOG) and am so glad I did. I didn‘t know anything about the Lost Boys of Sudan until reading this one. Thanks for sharing this one @ApoptyGina69 🙌🏻

#24in48 #HourTwelvechallenge #awholenewworld

Hour 12 Challenge. This book definitely changed my world view. It is so effective in describing the horrors of having to flee your home and try to build a new life in a new country. #24in48

Super long day at work so I missed dinner with the fam-this will have to do. Not complaining. #bookandwine #bookanddinner

I highly recommend this book. The way Dave Eggers tells Valentino's story by jumping between America and Africa is well done. The book was easy to read and I learned a lot about Sudan and the Lost Boys. After checking out Valentino's website I looked up a satalite picture of Marial Bai to see the buildings he was able to build and its a heart warming site. #educational #goodread

A friend lent me this book and I started it during lunch today. So far I'm enjoying it. #newbook

I wanna hear your thoughts on this if you have read it, ready, set, GO!!!! ❤️

Caturday #catsoflitsy #booked

Tom Cat, epically photobombing my copy of What is the What, given and inscribed to me by my husband for my #26th birthday. #twentysix #novemberbythenumbers #catsoflitsy

#SeptemBowie I haven't posted about these books in a long time...both Valentino & Ishmael could certainly #LookBackInAnger at the cruelty and brutality they endured as lost boys/boy soldiers, yet each persevered. These accounts are both heartbreaking and inspiring. The Eggers is "fictionalized" which bothered me slightly because it leaves the reader wondering how much was inaccurate or embellished.

After 3 books, I'm officially a Dave Eggers fan (especially given how diverse his topics are!). This semi true story of a Sudanese Lost Boy is both heartbreaking and inspiring, as we learn of the immense tragedies and danger this youth faced. My only criticism is that it jumped around too much with the timeline. Otherwise: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

2017 #132 fictionalized memoir audio I didn't read the blurb and was surprised to learn that this is a fictionalized true story of the main character. I have really enjoyed Eggers other works and have found the creativity behind them amazing. This didn't feel that way and maybe it was because he is giving an oral history written words. I almost gave up but the very, very last chapters made it tolerable. Not a favorite but intriguing.

Yes, I do enjoy reading to experience other lives and worlds.
https://quiz.tryinteract.com/#/59381abcc8379100114191cb/q/1

#junebookbug Day 19 I added this one to my TBR recently. #refugees

Belated photo of my Mothers Day bounty from the barn! You should see my daughter's stack! Twice as tall! #bookhaul

One of my favorite books about the lost boys from Sudan seeking asylum in the United States. Incredibly moving story. #immigrantsong #rockinmay

For today's prompt, #africa: What happens when a person goes through so much atrocity in life and still perseveres, holds out hope and continues to see kindness in others? One of the best testimonies I've ever read that shows the darkness of humanity and also the light that is capable of escaping. Pair with the album Everything That Happens Will Happen Today by David Byrne as it was actually inspired by this book. #lyricalapril

@RealLifeReading I am truly stumped for an #autobuyauthor so my husband has generously and easily answered Dave Eggers as his. #marchintoreading

Such an incredible book! I had never heard of the Lost Boys of Sudan before reading this, and it was at times gutting and absolutely heartbreaking to hear their stories. I found this book so relevant to the many issues facing our country right now.

Afternoon plans!

"All the while, I will know that you are there. How can I pretend that you do not exist? It would be almost as impossible as you pretending that I do not exist."

"I am tired of this country. I am thankful for it, yes. I have cherished many aspects of it for the three years I have been here, but I am tired of the promises. [We came here] contemplating and expecting quiet, peace and college, and safety."

#readjanuary #from2000s #refugees This is my favorite Eggers' book. I don't remember the specifics, but I do remember the story of the lost boys and the difficulties of adjusting to life in America - the classes they took to adjust, the culture shock, etc...

Published in 2006 which is the year of my first/second year of college. This is the year when I really started to love reading again. This was one of those books that helped me to love reading again. #publishedinthe2000s #readjanuary

Very moving book about a struggle that we Americans hardly hear about. I feel so changed having read about this man's experience.

So I woke up to this?!?😱😱😱 Not sure I have words, but I think it's important to note we are all in this together ❤️💙❤️💙

Heartbreaking true story of a Lost Boy. He tells his story from the time he escapes his village as a child and struggles to survive finally reaching the United State.

Immigrant stories for #booktober:

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
The Russian Debutante's Handbook by Gary Shteyngart
The Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
What is the What by Dave Eggers
Native Speaker by Chang-Rae Lee
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers.

Some of my fave writers and books here!

This one is in my top 20 of all time. Such an amazing read.

I'm going to cheat a little on my #nonfictionlove because while this is a memoir, it is technically fiction. This is a book that stays with me.

What a book. In the top books of all time. Not typical Dave Eggers.

Wow, what a narrative. The collective tale of the Sudanese "lost boys" told in the voice of one member of that horrendous and devastating chapter in history. I very seldom will say a book is 'uplifting' or a 'triumph of spirit' (maybe I'm reading the wrong books!), but this definitely qualifies. I listened to this and the narrator did characters and accents seamlessly. I have not been a fan of Eggers in the past, but this is a must-read.

So in a clear desire to avoid reading the Beast I have hit two separate bookstores today! Here is my used bookstore finds 💗💗💗💗

Current read.