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How in touch with nature the Native Americans were and still are has always amazed me. This is a good story of preserving culture, family, health and the seeds that grow from the earth to feed and keep us healthy. The story is a good reminder that we as humans should leave things as nature intended. Although slow in parts, the Seed Keeper is a story that will make you think and perhaps inspire you to plant your own garden. 🪴

Very good!

Trying to get this finished, but I‘m interrupted every 3 min by all the other living beings in the household. 😏 Such perfect weather this morning.

The straggles in the little pot are the purslane crumbs leftover from a deer snack. 😠 Plus, I planted some “deer resistant” plants this week and they promptly mowed down two of them. I should have sprayed them.

Rereading this one for what is hopefully a new regular IRL bookclub. 🤞🏾

The plot of The Seed Keeper unfolds as slowly as a seed sprouts after a long winter. Rosalie is adrift after the loss of her husband and returns to the primitive cabin where she grew up. Alternating timelines in her and her ancestor‘s lives highlight innumerable tragedies and the ways in which they are still connected. 3+⭐️ out of 5 for a solid entry in this genre.

#12DaysofChristmas March. #12booksof2022

I tried to choose between my two 5 🌟 reads for my March pick but they are both so good I can‘t pick a true favorite.

I loved this but it's a wicked slow burn.

It's the second monthly pick for my IRL book club. Anyone else in a book club that actually reads the books? Mine reads 2.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

A recent favorite. Really loved this one. #AlphabetGame

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I loved learning about the seeds and their history. At the same time, this was a difficult story to read. While it barely scratched the surface on the atrocities whites have done to natives in this country, those it did touch on were really hard. Gave me a lot to think about.

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

1. Can you name some 5 ⭐️ books you‘ve read this year?
Small Pleasures by Clare Chambers, The Trees by Percival Everett, Checkout 19 by Claire-Louise Bennett, French Braid by Anne Tyler and my most recent love tagged.

2. Share a recent pic from photo gallery?
Part of our back garden. If you squint you might see the goldfinch perched on the swiss chard.

This is a beautifully written book that made me weep with the truth of it. We must realize now that the old ways are the only path to a better future.

I absolutely loved this rich novel spanning generations of one Dakhóta family. And what a cover!

Inspired by a story Wilson heard about when the Dakhóta people were forcibly removed from Minnesota in 1863. With little time to prepare, the women sewed seeds into the hems of their skirts so they would be able to plant and feed their families wherever they were being sent.

“Love the seeds as you love your children, and the people will survive.”

“I opened the door that morning and the world seemed to right itself, as if all those years had meant nothing but waiting for that one moment.”

#FirstLineFridays

I‘m not sure who has my book (The Seed Keeper) but I still haven‘t gotten it back from #lmbpc last round. I‘m moving in a few days, we‘ll be having our mail forwarded to our new address. I‘d love to get it back at some point. Thank you!

I have found my way to so many amazing books thanks to Jenny @ReadingEnvy

I loved following her reviews on goodreads and here on Litsy and listening to her wonderful podcast.

Pictured are a few of Jenny‘s five-star reads that have been languishing on my shelves. I look forward to finally reading them this summer in her memory.

#RememberingJenny
@Centique

Hard to believe a third of the year is gone. Tagged book is winning best book of 2022 so far. This is harder than I thought it would be as I‘ve read some excellent books this year. If you want to join the fun visit @chasjjlee feed for the blank bracket. What will your favorite book be?

Not quite the book for me - I found some of the time changes hard to follow because we didn‘t get much from them and I had a difficult time remembering where I was in the generations. I found the sections focused on seeds and gardening the most interesting.

This book covers so much: Native American history and culture, the importance of family, our relationship with the land, in this beautifully written, moving novel. This has it all. Fine storytelling, complex characters, emotional depth. This was a #buddyread with @ValerieAndBooks and I‘m so glad she enjoyed it as much as I did. My review can‘t do this book justice. Read it!!

The Seed Keeper, a novel by Diane Wilson a Dakhóta tribe member, shows the strength & resilience of indigenous peoples, focusing on the women in the multi-generational story around Rosalie Iron Wing. Rosalie learns more about her heritage & herself through seed-keeping and the need to care for our earth. This is so good & I‘m not doing this book justice with my summary. I highly recommend! Borrowed, but definitely getting my own copy. More ?

Wow! I could not put this book down! I‘ll save my full review of this #buddyread with @ValerieAndBooks until she‘s finished. We‘ve read some good books together, but this one is the best so far, no question in my mind.

#BookReport: 💜💜💜 The Seed Keeper 5🌟. Tea Girl 4🌟 St Mark‘s 4🌟 and #BookSpin

#WeeklyForecast: Finish Silence of Girls for #LMPBC and Luck for #SundayBuddyRead and Part 3 of Obama. I‘ve switched to audio and am so glad I did. The rest of my reading will be comfort reads that do not take a lot of brain power.

Sorry to #Pemberlittens and 1619 readers…work is sapping the brain power and I can‘t keep up. I hope to pick these back up soon.

Rosalie, the MC, is concerned about agricultural runoff into the river, and GMO crops (although that term hasn‘t been used). Being married to an agricultural scientist and having some knowledge about these issues, I appreciate that the author is presenting both farmers‘ and environmentalists‘ viewpoints. GMOs, in particular, are too frequently discussed without the full history or science considered. #buddyread

No reading time today to spend with the tagged book, my #buddyread with @ValerieAndBooks I spent a large part of the day leading a tour through the botanical garden where I volunteer. We currently have an exhibit of Lego sculptures. The one pictured is called The Gardeners, and made me think of Rosalie teaching her young son about the garden (although this is supposed to be a grandfather and granddaughter)

Love this quote. Yes, there‘s something magical about that little brown cap on a seedling.

“I figure my ancestors had it coming,” he said quietly, “ You can‘t take land and starve families without them fighting back.”

Already loving this book, looking at the Native American experience. The MC‘s perspective is a unique one for me. #buddyread

Getting started on this book, a buddy read with @Lynnsoprano . Off to a promising start!

@ValerieAndBooks and I have done several #buddyreads together, but we got out of our annual pattern. Thankfully, we‘re starting again with the tagged book. Not sure if the beginning of March Madness was the best timing, but I‘m looking forward to both the book and the renewed tradition.

#FirstLineFridays

Chapter 2: In that first moment, it seemed as if nothing had changed.

it takes such hubris to think we have nothing to learn from those who came before.

“Thakóža, you‘ve had no one to teach you, not even how to be a part of a family or a community. You know what the grandmothers went through to save the seeds. That‘s how tough you have to be as an Indian woman. And as a seed keeper.” (Wilma Many Horses)
Loved this book. Can‘t recommend enough ♥️♥️Think I‘ll do #covercrush for #makeyourownprompt #booked2022
@Cinfhen @4thhouseontheleft @BarbaraTheBibliophage

Received the next #LMPBC book today!

Still have to read the Engineer‘s Wife (will read this week and get out)

I have so much grief around the fact that I wasn‘t exposed or encouraged to read Indigenous authors throughout my childhood and adolescence. It‘s wonderful to be able to make different choices as an adult, but I wonder how differently I might think or relate to the world if I had heard voices like this earlier. This is a lovely novel, that reads a bit like a memoir, and is beautiful.

A quiet morning, good coffee and Amazon gift cards equals a lovely start to my day. Thanks to the hosts of #Booked2021 and my son for today‘s book shopping. So excited to have all these books added to my Kindle.

This was a great Indigenous read about a woman struggling to find where she belongs in a community that does not treat her kindly due to her heritage. This was a great #LMPBC pick and very eye opening. Thank you for sharing it!
I will get this mailed out next week.
@BookBosomed1 @Laughterhp @ncsufoxes

What a wonderful collection! Thank you so much @Soubhiville for everything! The scarf is so soft and the book journal looks great! I had never even heard of The Seed Keeper, so I‘m excited to get to it this year.

Thanks again to @candority for putting together such a marvelous swap. What a fun way to start a new year.

I‘m just so thrilled with everything @BookBosomed1 included in my #BestOf2021Swap package! The journal (and adorable pen), the P&P stuff, the soap, the pin, the Buddha necklace, and the goodies are all perfect, and the books!! Two from my wishlist but I think I‘m most excited about the tagged that wasn‘t on my list but clearly should have been.❤️

Thank you, Lindsey! It‘s been a joy being partnered with you this swap season.

Happy New Year!

https://youtu.be/CGWCtE3HdwM

Happy holidays, everyone!

#IndigAThon

Intro

Highlights

House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday

On the Cusp of Contact: Gender, Space and Race in the Colonization of British Columbia by Jean Barman

The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson

Roughing It In The Bush by Susanna Moodie

Cooking the Books on Christmas Eve

Gate of the Sun by Elias Khoury, Humphrey Davies (Translator)

I got my January book in! 🎉
#LMPBC @Laughterhp @ncsufoxes @BookBosomed1

5/5 ⭐️ The ? follows the story of a Dakhóta woman who is shaped by & shapes her family‘s history. She comes to understand the lengths women in her family took to protect the seeds imperative to their survival - an act that has profound generational impact. Based on a real-life story of the seed keepers of the Dakhóta people & the forced removal from their land, this ? teaches an important history that is too often made invisible. #lmpbc

My post-booster care team. Very lazy and cozy Sunday as I recover and finish The Seed Keeper. #catsoflitsy #dogsoflitsy

Reading for #LMPBC. I‘m only 100 pages in and can say this is a beautifully written book. I already ordered copies to give to a few friends.

Weekend plans! I‘ve moved on to my next #crossstitch project, a bird for my brother. Just one more Christmas gift to stitch after this one 😅

My newest #librarystack! 😍 These will put me at 48 books read this year. Hoping I can make it an even 50 with the audiobooks I‘ll be listening to as I continue to stitch Christmas gifts for folks 🤞

“Back in the 1860s, the government was giving out 160-acre allotments to anyone who would homestead for 5 years. Family legend has it that Heinrich‘s son chased more than a few Indians off this piece of land with a shotgun.” He paused, seeming to realize what he‘d just said. “I mean no offense, Rosie. It‘s just an old story.”
No need to say anything. I was already familiar with that story.
(Internet photo)

I forgot to take a photo before I put it in the mail. This book is on its way to you @BookBosomed1 It should be there on Monday

This was my #LMBPC selection for round 13. I loved this book. It was fascinating that Native American women would sew seeds into their skirts when they were forced off their lands. This allowed them to provide food for their families, especially since the government gave them meager rations on the reservations & food they were not accustomed to. This book covers some of the past as well as the current dangers of genetically engineering food & the