Welcome to Litsy!

About to start reading the tagged for book club next week. Still in a bit of a slump 🤷🏼😳 At least the dogs are having a blast 😊

I love the idea of reframing a well known story about a white man (in this case David Livingstone) to instead discuss the local people of color surrounding him. But the execution here just isn‘t working for me. I think it‘s me, not the book, but I‘m finding it scattered and a slog, so I‘m bailing out.

I don‘t know much about Dr David Livingstone... but this was a historical fiction novel told from the point of view of his cook, Halima, and Jacob Wainwright, an aspiring Christian missionary, as they transport his body across Africa to return it for burial to England.

My favorite part was Halima‘s description of drying the body and how she came up with that idea. 😱

Very good narration and an interesting and unusual story.

DNF at 30%.

Nothing wrong with this one - writing was good, narrative strong. I just never felt excited to pick it up, and I have too many other books I AM excited about to spend any more time on this one right now.

Put a pause on my FB and Instagram accounts this week and have resurrected the ‘Sunday morning with the papers and pastries‘ ritual.

This is a very human, personalized narrative of the loyal Africans who carried David Livingstone‘s body 1500 miles to the coast so that it could be buried in his homeland. It was difficult to keep track of names & places via the audio format, but I really enjoyed the characters & exploration of the impact of colonialism on African culture nonetheless.

Ohhhh, the irony at the very end. I can‘t say more! 😮

A novel told from the perspective of two native people who were part of the entourage that carried Livingstone‘s body from the interior of Africa to the coast, this is a slow and sometimes hard read but it is worth the effort. Full review at https://booknaround.blogspot.com/2019/12/review-out-of-darkness-shining-light-by....

Audio baking - chocolate loaf. Kids will be happy campers after school. 😋

Halima, the female MC of the tagged book is cheeky! Love her suffer no nonsense, tell it like it is, get it done attitude. 💪🏾👌🏾👍🏾 Since she is the cook, I‘m thoroughly enjoying all the food references. Though right now she is comparing how long it will take to dry out Livingstone‘s body to a goat.

These are the books I got from last night‘s Jolabokaflod party! I had a wonderful group of ladies, some from each of my two bookclubs, and we were joined by Litsy pal @Eggs , who I was so excited to finally meet 😊📚

@Eyelit and I may have even converted some new Littens... stay tuned.

Happy Holidays friends! I hope you get some time with a good book today. 💚❤️💚

Oh my goodness @BookNAround - such lovely lovely gifts, thank you sweet friend you and I have such similar taste! 😘

Wishing you all a very very happy Christmas - have a wonderful holiday season. 🥳❤️🥳 #litsylove

Not to be outdone, Elliot had to get in on the sunbeam sleepy cuteness on this fine #Caturday #catsoflitsy (love that my cats like books as much as I do 😸)

Extraordinary historical fiction about the last days of David Livingstone in Africa & the efforts of his African attendants to move his body & papers 1500 miles to the coast & England. Narrated by two members of the party, female cook Halima and freed slave Jacob Wainwright (both real people), the novel examines colonialism‘s impact on those most directly affected. https://cannonballread.com/2019/10/out-of-darkness-shining-light-elcicco/

Surprise #Bookmail today!! Thank you @ScribnerBooks for this arc!!! It looks so good!!

#Catsoflitsy (I still haven‘t named them 🤷🏼‍♀️ I figure when I do they will leave!)

2/3 of my #bookfair #arc #bookhaul

Some great buzz about this one. I‘m so pleased to see African authors getting more of the spotlight.

The plot involves the journey of David Livingstone‘s body and papers from inland Africa to the coast so his body could be buried in England and his work preserved.

I confess, I know little more than “Dr. Livingstone, I presume.” I‘m interested in reading an African perspective before a European one.