Welcome to Litsy!

This is a book of short stories, but all in the same vicinity. I really enjoyed almost all of them, especially the last one where the protagonist is a lion 😊

I finally caught back up with this wild ride of a collection. Each story is so unexpected - a few are set during the Civil War period, a few in the 1970s, and the last novella-length piece is so inventive and set in a zoo (you have to read it!). I had never read James McBride before (The Good Lord Bird is on Mt TBR I promise!) - his writing style is so wonderful to read. The way he manages to evoke a setting in just a few sentences is fantastic.

I know nothing of this book till I asked google friends about the day‘s prompt. A ‘Five-Carat‘ will surely put a #holeinyoursoul ?

“.. a collection of short stories..McBride illustrates how our common desire for freedom and equality outweighs what are often imagined or prejudice-rooted differences.”

#ABBAInAugust

Finished 3 books and almost done with this gem, a collection of wonderful short stories by National Book Award winner, James McBride. I didn‘t make 24 hours but this is the most I‘ve been able to read in awhile thanks to #24in48. #oberlincollegeauthor

Another huge winner on the Levar Burton Reads podcast this morning at the gym! He read the story "Goat" from this collection and it is one of the best short stories I've ever "read." Wow. The ending was like a punch in the gut. Another short story collection to add to my priority TBR.

Powerful short stories! “Just because you can‘t read doesn‘t mean you‘re not smart. You‘re a bright woman. When you‘ve been spit on, Mrs. Shays said, it don‘t matter much what else you think you know.”

I gave in and got Kindle and have to admit it‘s great not to have to carry heavy bags of books around (post-op knee). My latest purchase is this one, and I‘m already hooked from the first page.

Starting late on my black history month reading so will probably end up getting through the 7 books on my TBR sometime in March. 1st three arrived at library today. #blackhistorymonth

Short stories are not my favorite to read, but I think they're probably the hardest to write. How do you build characters and plots that readers care about in so few sentences? #riotgrams day 6: #shortstories @bookriot

Day 3 #riotgrams These #nakedhardcovers put their outfits right back on after the photo was taken. I love dust jackets @bookriot

Oh how I loved this collection. The voices, the imagination, the delivery were fantastic. I squirreled away to read it over a couple of days. This is the book I will likely cite when people ask me to name one of my favorite reads of 2017. This is the book I hold up as the Gold Standard for short story collections.

For those who have read it, these pups are having some loud 💭 .

The stories in the first half of the book were my favorite, I read them all in just about one sitting. The second half, well, let‘s just say they didn‘t shine with the same brilliance like some of the others, with the exception of Father Abe. That one gave me all the feels, little orphan Abe is adorable. What resonated with me in that story was hope, belonging, love and family. Family isn‘t always your flesh and blood.

I really liked these short stories. Well written and engaging. Some went on for a few chapters which was cool too, getting deeper looks into these worlds.

Got an unexpected surprise last night as “LeVar Burton Reads” released a bonus episode. LeVar read the story “Goat” from the collection Five-Carat Soul to a live audience and interviewed the author James McBride about the story and its twist. It‘s powerful and sucker punches your gut at the end, and LeVar‘s performance only makes it even more powerful. Can‘t recommend listening/reading enough. #LBReads #JamesMcBride

Friday night done right!!! 📚📚📚📚📚 So many beautiful brand new books available at the library! #LibraryHaul #tbr

You know you've found the one when he insists on going to the library together. 😊💜

#MostAnticipated #AutumnReads #AwesomeAutumnBooks #TBR