Welcome to Litsy!

If there was ever a novel of a comic book this is it. A WOKE summer read that is light enough to carry the deeper and profound parts, making it all a worthy adventure! I‘m in for part two as soon as I can find a used copy 😊

I absolutely loved this book. What a fascinating premise, and it was executed so well. The characters perfectly encapsulated each borough. What a ride! I had fun reading this and look forward to the next!

The good news is, in amongst the duds and the meh, there were some real treasures read in April.

"I sing the city."

#firstlinefridays

29-30 Oct 23 (audiobook)
First book in a fantasy series about the ‘birth‘ of New York as a living city. I enjoyed this concept - five boroughs of New York (and many old cities of the world) were embodied in quite different characters. At times I lost track a little, particularly when the woman in white appeared. Poor Staten Island - I did feel for her ignorance, anxiety and bigotism and wondered how Staten natives would feel.

I haven‘t been to NYC in 11 years but you can feel the love for it on every page of this fantasy novel.

My first N.K.Jemisin read.The #booked2023 #afrofuturism prompt pushed me to read this signed book that has been languishing on my shelf since I ordered it for the author‘s talk. New York City is under siege by an invader with tentacles from another universe. The avatars of the various boroughs come together to save the city, as soon as they realize who they are, find each other and make a plan.The audio was excellent. A wild ride. Image- deathogs

I am late this month on posting my list. Looks like I can scratch off The City We Became and All of Us Villians! #bookspin

My new audio/physical book combo. So far, it is a wild ride! Such fun!

This urban fantasy was just ok, not great.
Five New Yorkers have to combine their forces to protect the city in an interdimensional war and stop an ancient evil from tearing down the city.
It tackles various social issues, but I particularly enjoyed how it celebrated the city itself in its tremendous diversity.

This book. Why did I wait over a year to read it?? It‘s so good, I‘m blown away. Also, I‘m counting it for my march #bookspin and #doublespin, as both were to read any of my BOTM books that month! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Book club meets 1 week from Tuesday so I should probably actually start the book. This week is going to be packed with wedding stuff (my best friend is getting married & I am in the wedding) so it could be interesting to see if I actually finish it on time 🤔🤦‍♀️

TV series coming! https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/nk-jemisin-the-city-we-became-series-adaptation...

#Innocence 💙💛💗 #InQuotes “🗣️💕”

#BookNerd 🤓📚💙

Enjoyed this book a lot! It has a very diverse cast and a very interesting eldritch premise, which I feel is a deliberate move away from racist works in the genre. While there were not many big catalysts in the book (I reckon those will be for the sequel), I did thoroughly appreciate the themes of racism, xenophobia and other very real issues that ultimately drove the plot more than whatever eldritch horrors there were. Highly recommend.

The best way to describe how this book feels to me as a reading experience is NK Jemisin does Marvel. It‘s Jemisin so it‘s diverse, it‘s queer, it covers topical political & social questions but it‘s also a bunch of ragtag heroes taking on an other worldly enemy in big, gnarly, superhero comic strip style, bif, pow, smack, street battles.
Incredible concept, five humans end up representing the five boroughs of NY - ⬇️

My obligatory summer “boat and book” photo. First day out on the water this summer!
Got very exciting when the kids found an unexplored old artillery shell on the island and we had to clear the beach and call the police. Thought you would like that story @Reggie Adventures! It‘s like we‘re The Famous Five😂😂

Did I say I was going to be better about book buying? Yes! Did I then immediately go and raid the #BlackFriday book deals? Of course! Through some combo of credits (I seriously no longer understand how Amazon works) and deals the tagged book and the Christmas novella were free on kindle, the rest were from Audible‘s sale. #NovemberNarrative @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

These 4 made it on a list of the top philanthropy fiction of 2020. The Jemisin is the only one I‘m familiar with, but now I want to read them all. #PhilanthropyDay #NovemberNarrative @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I sing the city.
#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

Holy sh*t f**k. This is amazing!

#JulyJam Day 30: #FriendsDay as Five total strangers representing NY‘s boroughs needed to team up and have each other‘s backs to save the world. Review is forthcoming.

#JulyJam Day 9: #CookieDay with that lotus cake goodness along with Arabic sweet luqaimat.

#JulyJam Day 2: #IForgotDay is perfect for this novel with the main characters forgetting who they are as they gradually come into themselves and turn into breathing, living, walking cities. With mango mojito, lemon mint, and passion fruit mojito for refreshing beverages in the sweltering summer of Dubai. All non-alcoholic of course, just the way melikey.

All set for July! I just finished my June books! Potions are for Pushovers and The Whispering Dead. I also caught up on the May books! A Glimmer of Death and Mexican Gothic!
#bookspin #doublespin @TheAromaofBooks

#BookMoods Day 28: I am expecting something #Bizarre from this (not so) new novel of Jemisin. In preparation for our upcoming trip to NY! 💕💕

3✨ Five individuals lives change when they become parts of the cities of New York. They discover super powers to protect their city from what appears to be intergalactic or cross demention tentacles. If this bad force wins the cities on New York will be destroyed. This book was out there and I had a lot of trouble really focusing to the audiobook, but the background sounds were amazing and even made me jump a few times.

Thanks for the tag @peanutnine 1.) The tagged book it set in Manhattan 2.)I finished it last night: Five feet apart. 3.) I‘m always behind the times in my reading, but The Paris apartment my Lucy Foley or The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St James #wonderouswednesday @Eggs Would you like to play @Ruthiella @Littlewolf1 @MariaW

I had a long week and I came home to this luxurious bath, sushi, and my home town book club read ready to go. 🥰💛

An amazing deep dive into modern society and all its complexity and nuances. The depth of imagination and the way prejudice portrayed is astounding. If you can, listen to this on audiobook. Being able to hear the different dialects used in New York City and the audio effects will add to your experience. I recommend this to fans of complex world-building.

Review https://www.behindthepages.org/post/the-city-we-became-by-n-k-jemisin-book-revie...

May went a bit sideways, I started both picked books but ended up reading 2 others. They are back on the list. I'll try again.🙃🤷‍♀️

I‘m home early. My husband won‘t be home for at least two hours. Which means I can listen to the last two hours of this book while doing a puzzle. I‘m so glad you picked this one for #nywd @sprainedbrain

I got fancy new headphones for Christmas & am discovering the joy of #audiopuzzling. Puzzle people, what do you do with your puzzles when you finish putting them together?

I can see why people love this. I liked the concepts and the character relationships. But it just didn‘t do it for me.

2nd book for #NewYearWhoDis @HOTPock3tt @monalyisha #NYWD22

I'm joining @Andrew65 in #12Booksof2021, sharing one book every day that was our favorite read from a select month. The City We Became won May hands down, and I read several excellent books that month. This incredible urban fantasy might even be my favorite read of the whole year. Every time I pass a Starbucks I chuckle and imagine it coming to life as a monster. #Fantasy #LGBTQ #DiverseBooks

If you have this book and google on your phone have you seen the Google lens bring the cover to life? Very 😎
This is epic. The world inside our world Jemisin has created is layered complex and not going to be everyone's cuppa.
This reminds me a bit of Gaiman's bigger reads. My only complaint is I could have used more time getting to know some of the cities, but I understand why the action was more the focus, the pacing is excellent.

I've just discovered that this cover is interactive.... never come across this before! Wiggly tentacles surely improve any book 💚🐙

N. K. Jemisin‘s urban fantasy (the first in a trilogy) is a smartly imagined rejoinder to H. P. Lovecraft‘s racism by using his concept of “eldritch horror” and updating it to the ever-present problem of racism, “gentrification” and white privilege while making clear that New York‘s strength comes from its vibrant, cosmopolitan population. It‘s a clever, vivid read that really conveys the city‘s vibe and I look forward to reading the sequel.

So cool and imaginative!
Took me a bit to get into it (I was a little more into her other novels, the high fantasy types of books) but this was really great and fun and well written. I ended up really enjoying it!

5 people wake up one morning to discover they‘ve become Avatars of the boroughs of New York City. Added to dealing with mundane problems like racism, homophobia, pice brutality, and gentrification, they also now have to worry about an Enemy that wants to erase NYC.

Took a while to get into with a lot of POV switching. It felt a little in your face with the messages, & the ending was too abrupt, but I‘m looking forward to the sequel. 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

It‘s doorknob time, y‘all! #AudioRepair

Adding to my #TBR

This #audiobook is amazing. The sound effects were great and the narrator does a really great job. This is (in a way) an ode to NYC. I'd be curious if the author could pull this off in other settings. You'd have to be pretty familiar with all the nuances of each place.

#BookSpinBingo free space
@TheAromaofBooks

I am posting one book per day from my to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new - don‘t judge me I have a lot of books.
Join the fun if you want. This is day 251.
#bookstoread
#tbrpile
#bookstagram

Did somebody say SPRAYED EDGES??!!!!!! 💕

Finally finished this one. I'll admit I put off reading the last chapter for a while because I just didn't want this ride to end. :')

This acknowledgment makes me very emotional. My only wish is that we all find a home to love as much as New Yorkers love theirs.