Welcome to Litsy!

#RememberNovember @Klou
Day 1: The Favourite

I have not seen the movie but when I read the synopsis I was reminded of this book. Not only for the relationship of these two women but the because of the influence Hick had with Eleanor.

Quinn provides insight into a presidency and also the personal lives of the Roosevelts.

I loved learning more about FDR‘s presidency through First Lady Eleanor! A fresh take on history from a woman‘s perspective and it was nice to read about Eleanor and Hick‘s friendship and how it shifted and changed but was always present during the 30+ years that they had known each other. ❤️

Yikes! I always have 3 books going. 1 physical book (or kindle,) 1 audio and 1 serial reader. Today I start a new kindle and audio book and tomorrow I start a new serial read. Weird.

After reading two fictional accounts of the Lorena Hickok and Eleanor Roosevelt relationship ship, I was intrigued to read a nonfiction accounting of their relationship. This book not only covers their relationship and friendship, but the history of the periods in which they lived and were active in. #TIL (Today I learned)was that Eleanor had same sexual relationships when she was in school. Would recommend the audiobook. #NFNov

Catch up from yesterday! I admire Eleanor Roosevelt, yet I had to bail on this book...I just couldn‘t get into the writing style. This book chronicles the relationship between Eleanor and Loretta Hicks. I‘m sure somewhere along the way a #RingOfKeys passed between them. I‘m glad Eleanor found happiness...I‘m not a fan of FDR and how he treated her! #MusicalNewYear

Eleanor Roosevelt has been a personal hero since I was a teen, but I had never learned about Hick, her whip smart, vivacious, hardworking butch reporter girlfriend. I loved getting a peek into their relationship, and the community of queer women activists that inspired both women to pursue progressive causes. The last third loses its focus on the titular couple, but it‘s still fascinating and worth the read! #queerbooks #nonfiction

I have never seen a better endorsement for loving cozy mysteries #currentlyreading #nonfiction #queerbooks

This is a tidbit I never learned in school! It‘s really interesting to read about a couple that inspires each other the way Eleanor and Hick did. I‘m not sure I‘ve seen relationships depicted this way in nonfiction before. #queerbooks #nonfiction #currentlyreading

I liked much of the book, but it became a bit more like walking in quicksand toward the last third. I was expecting more I think. 3 1/2 🌟

This was on my Christmas wishlist. I first saw this book last summer and it seems quite interesting. I am looking forward to reading it this winter.

I'm setting this book to the side. Maybe I'll try it some other time? The writing is too disjointed and flat to hold my attention. Eleanor Roosevelt is one of my favorite people, and I had such high hopes to read about a relationship that made her happy. Unfortunately, this one is just not for me.

Happy Caturday morning! #Vladimir #Zeke #catsoflitsy

This one falls somewhere between pick and so-so. This isn't a book about a love affair or about how ER was shaped by Hick. So the title is off base. It is a female-centric book set during the FDR presidency and until the end of Hick's life. It has a good bit of information that hasn't been told by every other ER book so that was nice. The info is good but not really relevant to the title. #readwomen

Hanging out with Eleanor Roosevelt today. Lots of talk about FDR's infidelities. No mention that anyone at Val-Kill was a lesbian.

The warmth in audiobook narrator Kimberly Farr's voice matches the tone of this detailed biography of two very different women who loved each other. I was surprised at how much I learned about American history along the way.
And I've finally got my last letter for #LitsyAtoZ - Q!

Once when Hick was in bed with the flu, Mrs Mack said, "Didn't anybody ever iron you?" She directed Hick to lie on her stomach, spread a towel over her, and passed a warm iron back and forth over her back and shoulders.

None of these women used the word lesbian, but those in their circle, including Eleanor, understood that they were lovers and partners for life.

[Eleanor writing to Lorena]:
"Oh, how I wanted to put my arms around you in reality instead of in spirit. I went and kissed your photograph instead, and the tears were in my eyes."

But her old-fashioned grandmother believed that higher education was a liability in the all-important task of marrying well. Eleanor almost had to leave Allenswood after 2 years because her grandmother got a report that she had been seen walking unchaperoned in a European city.

[1932] When it snowed in New York, 20,000 men came looking for a few days work shovelling. At one site, thousands lined up for 81 jobs.
[image from New York Daily News archives]

As for the polio which FDR contracted in 1921, and which deprived him of the use of his legs, neither Roosevelt nor any member of his family has ever publicly acknowledged his condition to be an affliction. Rather, they have taken the attitude that it made him better fitted for desk work.

Starting this tonight. I love Eleanor Roosevelt. I'm glad someone finally is going to give us a glimpse of the relationship that helped shape this great woman.

Only a few chapters in and I already know that this one will end up on my bookshelf.

Hick ........"I cannot remember when I decided that I liked animals better than people." ?me too?"she sense that animals' judgment was based on something deeper than what you look like, how you are dressed or how you rate with your fellow humans"

Even between appointments in the 🚗, I'm totally addicted to this book.💕

Amazing #bookhaul at @TheBookmarkPR -- fresh out the boxes, in fact! Woohoo! #GetIndie

I thoroughly enjoyed this new offering by Susan Quinn. Though the correspondence between Lorena "Hick" Hickok and Eleanor Roosevelt has been published previously, Quinn succeeds in providing a fuller backstory & additional context to the intimate relationship between these two complex, nontraditional firebrands who occupied the White House during very tumultuous years and remained friends for life. 5 stars #CatsOfLitsy #History @Penguinpress

Halfway through the book. Kitty is very glad I am home this week! #catsoflitsy @Penguinpress

Eleanor Roosevelt's favorite picture of Lorena "Hick" Hickok from 1932. This book is fantastic so far! @Penguinpress #ww2

Reading some great books! #womenshistory #ww2 #presidentialhistory #whitehouse @Penguinpress @TouchstoneBooks @penguinrandomhouse

I love this. Really enjoying this book so far. "There was the surface Hick: blasé and shock-proof, a tough-minded reporter who knew how to drink and smoke with the boys, and who fought for her rights. Then there was the tender-hearted and sometimes shy Hick underneath, who bore witness to the suffering of ordinary people in those terrible times." #eleanor

http://graphics.wsj.com/image-grid/fall-books-preview-2016/

Which Fall book are you most looking forward to reading?

Looking forward to another free read from Penguin's "First To Read" in exchange for my honest review ?