Welcome to Litsy!

Memories that tell a story, if you look hard enough. Because the purpose of memory, I would argue, is to remind us how to live.
#TheAstonishingColorOfAfter #EmilyXRPan #lastline #closingline #book #books #bookperson #bookpeople #bookpassion #bookpicture #bookpictures #bookphoto #bookphotos #bookphotograph #bookphotographer #bookphotography #bookart #YoungAdult #Contemporary #MagicalRealisim #Fantasy #Fiction #MentalHealth #Romance #Audiobook 💗💗

Leigh is a teenager who has just lost her mother to suicide. While she is still trying to grasp what has happened, her mother visits her in the form of a bird. As Leigh seeks answers, she stumbles across more questions - about her mother‘s past, about her family history, and about her feelings for her best friend Axel. This is such a thoughtful, creative story. And the prose is just gorgeous, so vivid and expressive. Very unique storytelling.

AAPI Book Recommendations 📚
#TheAstonishingColorOfAfter #EmilyXRPan #TwoDarkReigns #OneDarkThrone #FiveDarkFates #KendareBlake #EmpressOfAThousandSkies #BloodOfAThousandStars #RhodaBelleza #AAPIHeritageMonth #book #books #bookart #bookartist #bookattitude #bookaholic #bookaholics #bookshelf #bookshelves #bookshelfie #bookshelfies #shelfie #shelfies #YoungAdult #Contemporary #MagicalRealism #Fantasy #Fiction #MentalHealth #Romance #Audiobook 💘💘

What a haunting and beautifully written novel this is. I didn‘t expect to love this book as much as I did, but it truly is a work of art all in itself. I do have to warn that there is a trigger: suicide and depression. The author writes this sensitive subject with care, and it is a story I will never forget. 🪶
This was my #doublebookspin for February ❤️

Sunday afternoon well spent ☺️ This is one is those novels that I‘m just drinking in and savoring. Beautifully written, but also beautifully heartbreaking.

My mother is a bird. This isn‘t like some William Faulkner stream-of-consciousness metaphorical crap.
My mother. Is literally. A bird.
#TheAstonishingColorOfAfter #EmilyXRPan #firstline #openingline #book #books #bookperson #bookpeople #bookpassion #bookpicture #bookpictures #bookphoto #bookphotos #bookphotograph #bookphotographer #bookart #bookartist #YoungAdult #Contemperary #MagicalRealism #Fantasy #Fiction #MentalHealth #Romance #Audiobook 💙

#TheAstonishingColorOfAfter #EmilyXRPan #book #books #bookart #bookartist #bookattitude #bookaholic #bookaholics #bookshelf #bookshelves #bookshelfie #bookshelfies #shelfie #shelfies #bookstack #bookstacks #stack #stacks #bookstore #bookshop #bookshops #bookshopper #bookshopping #booksale #bookstore #bookdesign #bookdesigner #bookdeal #bookdeals #bookdealer #YoungAdult #Contemporary #MagicalRealism #Fantasy #Fiction #MentalHealth #Romance ❤️‍🔥😀

A nice #bookhaul after visiting 3 stops along the #greatercharlottebookcrawl yesterday 🤩

Overall really enjoyed this. I loved Leigh and Axels as characters, and their relationship. The book is an excellent exploration of grief, gorgeous to have her mother turn into a bird to guide her, magical realism used well.
I did think it was a bit too long. The middle-end needed tightening up probably a good 50-100 pages cut. But I really enjoyed this.
Double spin ✔️
#bookspin #doublespin @TheAromaofBooks

#weeklyforecast #vote #readinggoals
Stretch goal, I am halfway into Infinite Country and the tagged, hoping to switch gears this week to the spooky and witchy Halloween vibes!
Also need to read up on all these ballot measurements we have going in Oregon!

Here we go!!

#bookspin #bookspinbingo @thearomaofbooks

3✨ Trigger warnings for suicide, which may be obvious from a description of this book. Leigh‘s mother dies from suicide and she is sure she turned into a bird. This bird leads her to see her maternal grandparents in Taiwan that she has never met. The story is about family, memories, and a little of Taiwanese culture about spirits. I struggled with understanding the colors as feelings throughout. Read for #YABuddyRead @megnews

Here is my planned reads for the rest of this weekend. I‘m hoping to read at least these before the month ends. If I can I‘m going to try to finish two more along with these. #weekendreading @Andrew65

Book 50

"My mother is a bird. This isn‘t like some William Faulkner stream-of-consciousness metaphorical crap. My mother. Is literally. A bird."
#Firstlinefridays @ShyBookOwl

The plane angles and tilts, and I fight the gravitational force, leaning to press my face into the glass. I catch a glimpse of the clouds below, and the edge of our shadow upon them, shaped like a bird.
#TheAstonishingColorOfAfter #EmilyXRPan #lastline #closingline #book #books #bookperson #bookprople #bookpassion #bookpicture #bookpictures #bookphoto #bookphotos #bookphotograph #bookphotographer #YoungAdult #Contemporary #MagicalRealism 💝💝💝💝

Leigh is a teenager whose mother commits suicide. 95% of the book is about Leigh‘s grief, anger, & attempts to understand why. She travels to #Taiwan to meet her mother‘s parents for the first time. It‘s an emotionally draining book, told by an angry teenager with attitude, who was like that before her mother‘s death. The main character isn‘t likeable. It had a magical realism angle, which was necessary to tell the story, but there were logical ⬇️

My next audiobook.

#readingasia2021 #Taiwan @librarybelle @BarbaraBB

👍👍👍👍👍

“Leigh Chen Sanders is absolutely certain about one thing: When her mother died by suicide, she turned into a bird“. I mean how can you not want to read a book with that tagline? Beautifully written, the characters were really brought to life in this one.

Incredible artwork from here:
https://twitter.com/KiraDeSomma/status/954114077520998400/photo/1

#readingasia2021

This was a soft pick for me, because I‘m not keen on YA or fantasy and there were fantastical elements in this tale, set in #taiwan, of a teen struggling after her Mum‘s suicide.

I did actually learn a lot about the customs, in particular the food, of Taiwan but overall the book felt overlong and repetitive in places.

Beautifully done. Very evocative. Emotional.

Just starting this one. So far, it is beautiful.

A beautiful & emotional read that explores grief, mental health, and personal identity in a unique, but hard-hitting way. Despite this deep content, it is delivered in a graceful & soft way that flows calmly & naturally. Leigh is a great protagonist. There is a good balance between her abilities to compartmentalize and function and her feelings of confusion, anger, sadness, and fear. She is complex & blatantly amazing. I just loved this book.

A day late, but I am SO EXCITED to share this book! 🥰

This is a beautiful YA book about grief and identity and relationships. It sat on my shelf for quite a while (sometimes books about losing a mother can be triggering for me), but when I was ready, it more than delivered. In fact, I'm thinking this month might be a good time for a re-read, if I can find it in all my boxes...

#IntegrateYourShelf

This might be one of the first magical realism book I‘ve ever read, and I wasn‘t a huge fan. I just felt like the parts where she was chasing down the bird really dragged out the plot. However, I loved the character development and the ending was so sweet.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

#ya

#SpringSentiments @Eggs
Prompt: Stupefied

My mother is a bird.
#TheAstonishingColorOfAfter #EmilyXRPan #firstline #openingline #book #books #bookphoto #bookphotos #bookphotograph #bookphotographer #bookphotography #bookphotographers #bookpicture #bookpictures #bookart #bookartist #bookattitude #bookaholic #bookaholics #bookshelf #bookshelves #bookshelfie #bookshelfies #shelfie #shelfies #bookstack #bookstacks #stack #stacks #bookstore #bookshop #YoungAdult #Contemporary #MagicalRealism 💕

I liked the Smokes and Memories part, the reality not so much. Also, it was really cool how Leigh associated all her emotions with colours ❤️

Today‘s #bookmail. I had put 3 #readingasia2021 spaces on my #bookspinbingo as I didn‘t know when these would arrive, but here they are and one of the spaces has been picked as #bookspin.....now which to choose?!

The tagged book is YA and set partly in Taiwan. I‘m annoyed about Women of Sand & Myrrh as it is down as Saudi Arabia on Goodreads but the blurb says an unnamed state. The author is Lebanese so I may swap, or just leave it as Saudi.

Absolutely loved this book! Such beautiful prose using colors to describe emotions throughout. Fabulist elements interweaved in a fascinating way. Such vivid imagery and creativity.

A teenage girl believes her mother turned into a bird after she died.

I wrote a blog post digging into the genre here:

https://susanshiney.com/what-genre-is-the-astonishing-color-of-after-by-emily-x-...

Last read of the month before I start my spooky binge for October.
I‘ve had this on my TBR pile for quite some time.
#thatcovertho

My next read. Excited for this one 😁

Because the purpose of memory, I would argue, is to remind us how to live.
#TheAstonishingColorOfAfter #EmilyXRPan #book #books #lastline #closingline #bookfeature #bookfeatures #bookfair #bookfan #bookfandom #bookfever #bookfanatic #bookfrenzy #bookgeek #bookgeeks #bookgeeky #bookgang #bookgasm #geek #geeks #geeky #bookhoarder #bookhoarders #bookhaul #bookhauler #bookholic #bookholics #bookheaven #YoungAdult #Contemporary #MagicalRealism 💕💕💕💕

This was such a sweet book to read. There were definitely parts that tugged at the heart strings. I‘m glad I got a chance to read this. It definitely was a fun read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#TheAstonishingColorOfAfter #EmilyXRPan #book #books #bookfeature #bookfeatures #bookfair #bookfan #bookfandom #bookfever #bookfanatic #bookfrenzy #bookgeek #bookgeeks #bookgeeky #bookgang #bookgasm #geek #geeks #geeky #Fantasy #Fiction #YoungAdult #Contemporary #YA 🧡🧡🧡🧡

Currently Reading 📖
#CurrentlyReading #TheAstonishingColorOfAfter #EmilyXRPan #EmpressOfAThousandSkies #RhodaBelleza #book #books #epicreads @EpicReads #bookend #bookends #bookending #bookendings #bookedit #bookedits #bookeditor #bookeditors #bookediting #bookeditings #reading #bookrecommendation #bookrecommendations #recommendation #recommendations #bookreport #bookreports #bookreview #bookreviews #bookriot #booktattoo #booktree #bookthief ❤️❤️

Reading by the pool 🏊‍♀️ 📖
#TheAstonishingColorOfAfter #EmilyXRPan #book #books #bookart #bookarts #bookartist #bookaddict #bookaddiction #bookaholic #bookaholics #bookshelf #bookshelves #SummerReading #bookshelfie #bookshelfies #shelfie #shelfies #bookstack #bookstacks #stack #stacks #bookstore #bookshop #bookshopper #bookshopping #booksale #bookdesign #bookdesigner #bookdragon #bookdragons #bookdeal #YoungAdult #Contemporary #MagicalRealism 💓

Currently Reading 📖
#TheAstonishingColorOfAfter #EmilyXRPan #TheNightCountry #MelissaAlbert #book #books #bookdesign #bookdesigner #bookdragon #bookdragons #bookdeal #bookdealer #bookfeature #bookfeatures #bookfair #bookfandom #bookfandoms #fan #bookfan #fandom #bookfever #bookfanatic #bookfrenzy #bookgeek #bookgeeks #bookgeeky #bookgang #bookgasm #geek #geeks #geeky #bookhoarder #bookhoarders #bookhaul #bookhauler #bookholic #bookholics 💙💙💙

This cover is gorgeous. The story is really kind of sad though. Suicide. Mental illness. I‘m usually hesitant about any magical realism, but this is well done. Overall, this book isn‘t for me, but I would recommend it to any teen dealing with the mental illness of a family member. #asianreadathon

My latest book haul 📚
#TheAstonishingColorOfAfter #EmilyXRPan #book #books #booksoflitsy #bookobsessed #bookobsession #bookoholic #bookoholics #bookperson #bookpeople #bookpassion #bookpicture #bookpictures #bookphoto #bookphotos #bookphotograph #bookphotographer #bookphotography #bookart #bookartist #bookattitude #bookaholic #bookaholics #bookshelf #bookshelves #shelfie #shelfies #bookstack #stack #YoungAdult #Contemporary #MagicalRealism 💙💙💙

An astonishing YA indeed! Our protagonist visits her grandparents in Taiwan (whom she's never met before) after losing her mother in order to find out more about her heritage. Through magical realist dream-like sequences and flashbacks, readers get to discover what led up to these events and how to move forward. It tackles issues around mental health and the taboos surrounding it, heritage, sexuality, art and ambition. 10/10 would recommend 👌

#birdonthecover
#bloomingbibliophiles
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620

#29 of my year and I‘m 3 pages in and can already tell this is going to be a story that will stay with me forever. It‘s already thick with beautiful meaning and descriptions. I am already in love with this book! Listening to music while I read my night away 🎧 🎶 📖

I was so happy to use my hand sewn tote from @BennettBookworm for the first time today! I love the whimsical hedgehogs. 💗 I used it for the best possible cargo, of course. I picked up The Holdout hot off the presses (pub date=today) and also a beautiful used copy of the tagged book which has been on my TBR for 2 years. I‘m a happy camper tonight. ☺️

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you‘re looking for a moving read with excellent writing, “The Astonishing Color of After” is a great pick. The author gives us an emotional story with vivid imagery and exceptional storytelling. This was a heavy read and by no means a quick one, but the short chapters helped break it up. Overall, this was an emotional read that was beautifully written.

🚨TRIGGERS INCLUDE: suicide, self-harm, depression, suicide attempts

This book was so vivid and well written. It took me a while to get into it, probably, just because of the genre, but I‘m glad I stuck with it. The view from our campsite in New Mexico. Off to cold Sante Fe Tuesday for a week and a half!

Content warning: suicide

After her mother‘s suicide, Leigh sees a bird that she‘s sure is her mother trying to send her a message. A box of old pictures sends her to Taiwan to meet her grandparents and heal a rift in the family.
There‘s a touch of magical realism, along with beautiful writing and a strong sense of place.

This book kept my interest despite the overall sadness of the story. A young girl searches for the story of her mother‘s life after her mother has committed suicide. There are elements of fantasy through this book as well and I‘m not sure they worked for me. I found myself more invested in the realistic parts of the story. The resolution was underwhelming and hastily done. It seemed odd since the rest of the story developed more slowly.