Welcome to Litsy!

This novel is a love story on many levels. There‘s the love of parents, love of friends, love of spouses. There are tragic moments when a man is convicted of a crime he didn‘t commit and is sentenced to prison. The novel is mostly filled with letters written while the man is in prison. There is lots of passion and pain. When the attorney finally is able to get the man‘s conviction overturned, he heads home and everything has changed. 3.75⭐️

Whew. Okay. I disliked all the characters and I loved all the writing. She writes real people, with all their flaws and realities, which made me dislike pretty much all of them. But the story is gripping, and if you can stick with it, it‘s a really good book.

I‘ve met Greg Iles, Beatriz Williams, Tayari Jones…

I would love to meet Fiona Davis, Emily Henry, Alice Feeney, BA Paris, TJ Klune, Kristy Woodson Harvey, @ruthemmielang 💫⭐️

#SundayFunday

“This is a love letter. Everything I do is a love letter to you.” -Roy

If you read this book, you know to what I refer ….
🔪💔😫

#StabInTheBack

#IdiomInsight

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Powerful novel with themes of race, love, and marriage. Told from three POVs(some in letters), Jones‘s characters may not be likable or make selfless choices, but they are authentic. The guilt, heartbreak, and pain of a life interrupted feels honest, and as complicated as real life. This is about one family‘s experience, but the far-reaching impact of mass incarceration and systemic racism within the criminal justice system can not be ignored. 4⭐️

Book #33
3.5/5
Decent book - offers a different perspective on relationships, in the context of African-American characters in the US. My complaint would be the pacing of the storyline. There were a lot of places that felt very slow, and it didn't have a very good flow.

I immediately thought of this one, however it is the opposite of #standbyme 😬 💙 💍💛 I ready disliked Celestial…

#VolumesandVocals

22-5 May 23 (audiobook)
A pick - well-written and raised many questions. But I disliked self-centred Celestial and despised Dre. Yes, I thought she should have stuck by her man! Not sure whether that is an old-fashioned, sexist view - I like to think I would have felt the same way if their genders had been reversed. But as Roy said, it wouldn‘t have happened to her.

Your best trait is also your worst.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Finally read this #BOTMBacklog. Not a fan of Celestine and how she handled her relationships, but I cannot imagine being in her shoes and seeing the life she worked to build with her husband being snatched in an instant of “mistaken identity”.

Here is my #bookspin list for April! Looking forward to this month‘s picks!!

This took me a while to get through. It starts quickly and then abruptly slows to a crawl. I considered putting it aside, but I didn‘t dislike it enough to quit on it. I wanted to see where the marriage was going, I just didn‘t want to deal with the characters anymore.

#WomensHistoryMonth #recommendations 12of31
Fiction
Well written interesting story of what happens in a marriage when the husband is wrongfully charged with rape and sent to prison. A wholely original story that brings up an all too common situation for Black Americans. I love that this got people talking about our "justice" system. We know that 1/20 people in the US are wrongfully convicted. This book looks at what this can do to a family.

#LoveTriangle
#MarchMagic

This was a great book, but I didn‘t care for the wife at all! I also met this author at a book signing and she is awesome!! I need to read her back list!

💙💛

YAY. The first time I reached my reading goal in like, three years. I blame college. But, I‘m so thrilled!

Wow, what a read! A perfect, well rounded book. Read it.

I‘m loving the new podcast Book Exploder! It‘s hosted by Susan Orlean, and she talks to other authors about breaking down key passages in their books.

This wonderful episode gave me a much deeper appreciation for Tayari Jones‘ book. I had no idea of her process (basically wrote 2.5 books and then interwove their stories 😱): https://open.spotify.com/episode/3lBbAwFe56klGNvpzCBDE5?si=OSkiFAraS2WEuUl7hkMvS...

Excited for book club tonight. It‘s our first in-person meeting in…I don‘t even know how long! 📚

My current staff pick

This has to be one of the best notes I've ever written in an #lmpbc book!

4 3/4 ⭐

#2019 #202025 @Librarybelle

@jhod it will be on it's way back to you soon!

#MadeYouMad #BookMoods @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I became angry with the wife for abandoning her husband who was serving time for a crime he didn‘t commit 😡

I think what resonated most with me in this book was how accurate I felt it‘s portrayal of marriage was. A marriage that is pushed up against the ropes, when all feels helpless. Celestial and Roy are separated by prison, Roy accused of a crime that Celestial knows he didn‘t commit. Devotion, shown through letters starts to wain as one goes forward in life and the other is incarcerated. It‘s heartbreaking but honest. Deserving of its rave reviews.

“Sometimes when you like where you end up, you don‘t care how you got there.”

#BookMoods
#Celebbookclubpick

From Oprah‘s book club 💙💛

I enjoyed this one! It was beautifully written with relatable characters who found themselves in a very difficult situation. I would like to think I know what I would do in this situation, but do I really?

I really enjoyed meeting Tayari! She is awesome!

Check out my fancy new pen mug at work...

#WomensPrize

I was busy the last few days!

The Split (f/f romance with focus on a lovely friendship): ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
The Children of Jocasta (good Ancient Greek story retelling): ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
The sisters of Sparta (another retelling, but characterization fell short & too much was missing): ⭐️/5
An American Marriage (different than I expected): ⭐️⭐️,5/5

#reading

#marriage #200pnpcovers @CrowCAH @mabell

I really enjoyed this book! Not bad for a thrift store find!

#paperrings #FearlessFebruary

February‘s pick for the book club I‘m in. So far, I‘m enjoying it.

This was good, just not great. Felt at points it got a bit laboured, found myself almost skimming. Pace wise it started so quick and then slowed a lot, so perhaps that was it. The story of the impact of the wrongful conviction on not just Roy but the others in his life was very moving. And there was a lot in there about the significance and divergence in parenting from both sides I found interesting. But perhaps not one I‘d rush to recommend.

Giving it a pick, but it took me awhile to get into it.

This book made me feel things I wasn't ready to feel.

I had very little clue what to expect of this book when I started reading it. I think it was on the Women‘s Prize shortlist when it caught my eye. Good story, and enlightening. Great characters, I liked the way the story was passed around between them so you got to understand the different viewpoints. Sadly the central premise of the book in which a black man is falsely accused of a crime was all too believable. My #bookspin for July.

#curiouscovers #tree
A great book looking at an all too common situation in America. What happens to a marriage when one of the people is falsely accused of a crime and goes to prison?
Great way to start thinking about the American justice system if you don't, and great discuss topics on relationships too.
@eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

4⭐️ I enjoyed the book and thought that it explored some excellent issues, like how incarceration affects a marriage and how Black African American males have been targeted (thinking of the Susan Smith cases where she gave a description of an African-American male of drowning her kids when she had actually done it herself) for certain crimes. I felt that the epilogue was an afterthought and really didn‘t add anything

Onto my second book for #deweysreadathon #24hourreadathon #readathon. I will post reviews of completed books in the coming days.