Welcome to Litsy!

I read this one for the IRL Book Club I host at a local Cafe (our meeting was tonight). My favourite part was the wonderful discussion we had 🤷‍♀️ There were the makings of a really good book here, but it was severely underdeveloped. I loved Jake's storyline, but everything else felt emotionally lacking and frustratingly off the mark.

Thanks so much @smalldogs_bigbooks2419 @suvata @vonnie862

I really enjoyed reading your comments.

#LMPBC

#LMPBC #LMPBCRound16GroupC
@vonnie862 @smalldogs_bigbooks2419

@suvata has mailed a book to @Bookwormjillk

• Read in February 2023 for Litsy Markup Postal Book Club #LMPBC Round 16 - Group C

#StoryGraph: fiction contemporary adventurous emotional reflective slow-paced india lgbtqia society-and-culture
336 pages • first pub 2018

Pival Sengupta has booked a trip with the First Class India USA Destination Vacation Tour Company in order to travel to New York City where she hopes to uncover the truth about her missing son, Rahi.

GAME TIME
This is what I am currently reading. Who can guess the four books behind it?

@smalldogs_bigbooks2419 #LMPBC
Just wanted to let you know I received the book today. As soon as I finish the book I‘m reading now, I will start it and pass it on. Thanks.

This probably isn‘t a book I would have chosen for myself, but that‘s part of why I love swaps, book clubs and Litsy in general. I found all but one of the characters to be pretty likable and liked how it all came together in the end but wasn‘t predictable. #lmpbc @vonnie862 @suvata @Bookwormjillk

Many of the books I read make me dream of going to well-known places. This book has me thinking seriously about planning a trip to Corning, NY to visit The Corning Museum of Glass. This floor to ceiling sculpture stands in their visitors center. What random places have books made you want to visit?

I said book, dog-child said belly rubs. We agreed I could have one hand for each, and she fell asleep within seconds. Oh the sweet life of a very old, very demanding, very loved reading buddy. #lmpbc @suvata @Bookwormjillk @vonnie862

I‘ve been really wanting to start the new year with a new book. This one came at the perfect time! Thank you @vonnie862 #lmpbc #round16 #groupC @suvata @Bookwormjillk

I enjoyed this book. I liked how all of the characters came together at the end and I really enjoyed the healing process/character growth that they went through. I am not sure how much of the Bangladeshi culture is accurately represented in the book, but I liked the story overall.
4⭐️
#round16 #groupC #LMPBC #litsymarkup
Going out soon: @smalldogs_bigbooks2419 @Bookwormjillk @suvata

Just letting my team members know that I received the next book.

@smalldogs_bigbooks2419 @Bookwormjillk
@suvata
#litsymarkup #round16 #groupC #LMPBC

Travel, found family, quirky characters, warm fuzzies… this book checked a lot of my boxes for things I gravitate to in books.

It‘s about a widow who finally has the chance to make her own decisions and decides to take a trip to America to better understand her son. I also liked that I learned a few things about Bangladesh‘s history too. Maybe a couple too many POV characters, but other than that an excellent, fast read.

The wistfulness of these characters made it a perfect Thanksgiving week read. I hope the rest of my#LMPBC group enjoys it as well. It‘s going in the mail today!

Oh my god, get to the point!! This book is supposed to be centered around a road trip, but I‘m close to 3 1/2 hours in and there‘s not a vehicle in sight. Let‘s get this show on the road!!

Prival Sangupta is a Bengali widow who has never left the blocks surrounding her Kolkata apartment. When her husband passes, she decides to take a tour of America hoping that it will lead her to her estranged son who she has been told died suddenly from a heart attack. She is accompanied by her tour guide Satya, a young Bangladeshi man, who has never led a tour, and Rebecca, a struggling American actress. 4.5⭐️ I'm going to miss this crazy crew!

While I did like the bits about the culture of India and Bangladesh, I was disappointed by the plot. I don‘t get what Franqui‘s message is with this book. If she wants to tell about Indian people in the US she could have done so much better without this plot, which is distracting from the interesting stuff.

#ReadYourSign ♏️ 8 in published date (2018)
#SummerFun #Roadtrip
#Booked2020 #PanAsianAuthor

Book 72
A simply-written, sweet, learning to accept yourself story about a woman from India traveling across the US in order to understand her son, who left India for California. A good book!

“I do think most parents, at the heart, want their children to be happy. It is only we want our children to be happy in the right way. The way we were taught happiness was. I think this is a cause of much pain, thinking, perhaps, that there is a right way.” -p287

”She had expected herself not to fit into this place, and she didn‘t. But neither, it seemed, did anyone else. This was a world in which you could not-fit-in and still survive.” -p240

Wow, I really liked this book. The cultural ideas of the Bengali vs the Bangladeshi was interesting and an aspect of different Indian ethnicities I wasn‘t familiar with. I loved seeing America from the perspective of newcomers, and watching Pival‘s story arc.

#bookreport for this week:
Tagged book- 5⭐️
Us Against You- 5⭐️
Acid for the Children- 3⭐️
The Sparrow Sisters- Bail
The Traveling Cat Chronicles- just starting

Newly widowed Pival leaves India, ostensibly to go on a cross-country tour of America, but really to search for the gay son her husband disowned years ago. Her narrative joins with those of Satya, a Bangladeshi tour guide, and Rebecca, a Jewish-American aspiring actor, to form a quietly moving story of seeking what one has lost, or perhaps never found before. The whisper-like tension slowly builds to a bittersweet yet life-affirming conclusion.

An older Indian widow sets out on a tour of America en route to discovering what actually happened to her only child, a son who she was forced, by her husband, to disown when Rahi came out as gay. This is an emotion-filled novel as Pival starts to take charge of her life and to make peace with herself. Full review at https://booknaround.blogspot.com/2019/07/review-america-for-beginners-by-leah.ht...

It‘s harder than I thought anything could be and I‘m so tired. I need someone to give me the chance. I hate that. Why can‘t I choose, instead of wanting to be chosen? 🧳✈️🚌

What a coincidence, this is the latest book I‘ve stacked on Litsy. Blurb says it‘s a heartwarming and funny ‘road trip novel‘ that follows three unlikely characters as they travel across the United States together. They learn to see America - and themselves - in different and profound new ways.

#LetsTravelJuly #USA

Happy Fourth of July! 🇺🇸 🎆

I was not prepared for this jewel of a novel. I had no idea what this book was about as it unfolded over the coast to coast tour booked by a widow who had never been out of Kolkata, India. Although we are privy to her reason for taking this tour, it is abruptly revealed to her traveling companions and it changes the lives of everyone involved in unforeseen ways. The ending was truly lovely, there was laughter, and, yes, tears. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

After her husband‘s death, an Indian woman plans a trip to America to find her estranged son. All the feels.

@RealLifeReading

Pival a wealthy widow from India travels first to New York city then in a #gypsyroad trip across America to California to learn the truth about what happened to her son who her husband declared dead shortly after he revealed his sexual orientation to their traditional family. 4⭐ bittersweet
#wanderingjune @Cinfhen @BarbaraBB

Darling book. This is a sweet story about 3 people who would never have meet find themselves thrown together on a cross country tour of America. They learn from each other as their minds and hearts are expanded. Stereotypes and biases are shed as they get to know each other and find the humanity in each other. This is a book our world needs at this time.

Back at my #mounttbr efforts with this ARC I received last year. 👍🏻 so far.

#MiaCat has also joined the party! Isn‘t he a beauty? #CatsofLitsy

#ImmersionReading with #TrickyCat by my side. #CatsofLitsy

Recently widowed Pival leaves India at 60 and road trips across America with a young Bengali tour guide and an American aspiring actress. These unlikely characters bond and change each other‘s lives through different perspectives. Each are flawed and grow, though I feel some plot points were a bit convenient/random. I am taking it with a grain of salt though seeing as the author is not Indian so not sure on how accurate the culture is.

A little different spin on the “road trip as metaphor” tale.

I‘ve had a good reading month!! I finished this one today and loved it! 4🌟

Captivating, heartfelt, curious, and compassionate. I adored the characters and fell deeply into their intertwined story. #heartfelt #heartwarming #family

Molly! Thanks so much for the #feedareader package! The book looks great, and what‘s not to love about cheese recipes and chocolate? The chocolate marshmallows look really good- I need to make some hot chocolate now! Thanks again!

Loved this book! Light, sweet and heartwarming novel about three very different people who are brought together for a cross-country tour of America. I loved the humor peppered throughout, and how the characters‘ lives intertwine in ways that unexpectedly enrich each of them. Just the type of hopeful read I need during these dark times!

#TBRtemptation post 1! Pival is setting out to #NYC from Kolkata, India, and then across country to California, to learn about her son, Rahi--who told his parents he's gay--when he suddenly dies. The guided tour she takes is haphazardly put together by the company, and her guide is Satya, who's never been outside the city. She also travels with Rebecca, an aspiring actress. Their 2-week journey will be eye-opening. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎

One of my favorite reads from this year is a U.S. #KindleDailyDeal

https://www.amazon.com/America-Beginners-Novel-Leah-Franqui-ebook/dp/B072PC7TR3/...

What a fantastic book! It tells the story of a widow from Kolkata, India who travels to the US to find out the truth about what happened to her estranged son. So different from my usual picks but I really enjoyed it.

This was a lovely book. I really enjoyed it.

Really enjoyed this novel ! It's a light-hearted drama . There are a few sad scenes but , overall I smiled through most of the story .

Lovely.

Such a lovely story of moving on, forgiveness and growth. I really enjoyed this one. A solid 4⭐️.

This was so good I had to finish it before work! A Bengali widow, her tour guide and companion take a trip across the US and learn things about themselves they didn't know and grew stronger. Everyone should read this!

Trying this for my new audiobook.

What a wonderful book. I did not want this tale full of hope, acceptance, and love to end. I cared about all the characters and felt I identified with all ogmf them in some way. Close to the end seemed a little rushed but evened out in the very end.. would recommend!!!!