Welcome to Litsy!

#bookspin One, None, and a Hundred Thousand
#doubledpin The Dance Tree
#bookspinbingo 3
#June2024

I loved this. The audio is slow and understated and (for me) perfectly evokes the long hot dread of the summer.

1518. Lisbet‘s baby may actually survive to term after so many losses, but she dare not hope. Her beloved bees are at risk. Her exiled sister-in-law has returned (exiled for what?). And women are dancing.

As the endless summer wears on, Lisbet discovers her own strength, makes unexpected friendships and has her eyes opened.

This hits hard. The stultifying heat of 1518 seeps off the page. The angst and sadness of Lisbet who has hung ribbons for 12 lost babies is heartbreaking. The combustion engine of Strasbourg as women start to ‘dance‘ in their ‘plague‘ is wonderfully rendered. Is this a book about faith? Loss? Love? Hatred? I am not sure but I am glad I pulled it off the tbr - only the 16th already owned that I have managed! For this year #readaway2024

In the summer of 1518, a woman started dancing in the streets of Strasbourg…by the time she stopped it was too late, the “plague” had spread & at one time, over 400 people were dancing. This is the event that inspired Hargrave‘s book which tells the story of a young wife navigating family & marriage, a sister who returns home in disgrace, a town under the mercurial control of an abusive man, & what happens when the dancing starts. a good read.

Started a bit slow but it‘s really picked up. Getting hard to put down now…

That feeling when you come across an amazing sale and get a great stack of books for less than a third of the total list price…💃🏽💃🏽💃🏽

There are a few new books I stumbled across pursuing the sale but most of these have been on my “I want to read this” list for some time. Hard to say which one I‘m most excited about but the tagged book is near the top of the list. Hargrave‘s The Mercies was one of my top two books in 2020.

What was it like to be a woman in the 16th century? A queer woman? A Brown skinned man? These are questions this story asks. In an often frightening time, one woman faces one loss after another until she is finally forced to make a sacrifice in order to find her own happiness.
The Dancing Plague of 1518 is a real event that is still an unsolved mystery. The best book I‘ve read about it is also recommended by the author: A Time To Dance, A

He‘s not ON my book for once! I didn‘t have Hospice this morning, so I have more time with him. Halfway through this interesting read.

Strausbourg is sliding Hellwards. And we women, we bear the brunt. We are bred or banished, and always, *always* damned.

The medieval encyclopedia text, Hortus Deliciarum, was written by Abbess Herrard of Landsberg, in the 12th century. Its 300+ images were likely created by her canonesses. What is a pretzel doing in this text? It could be the earliest image we have of a pretzel. Next time you eat one, think of this abbess and her sisters.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-first-encyclopedia-by-a-woman-contains...

Loved this historical novel set in Strasbourg during a heat wave in 1518. The author uses this nivel to talk about pregnancy loss, racism, and anti-gay violence. She does all this while still making me believe in the historical setting. I loved The Mercies. This novel is similar in tone. 4.5 🌟 #52bookclub23 #meanttoreadin22 @MicheleinPhilly @jlhammar @Deblovestoread @ravenlee @BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain @Bluebird @Read4life @LeeRHarry @Smarkies

I really liked this book, but it‘s heavy and dark. So choose accordingly when you read it. It‘s about a dancing plague in the 16th century. But the characters and themes are wholly resonant for today‘s world. Hargrove examines religion, patriarchy, and who we love. And the women in the story bear the brunt of men‘s need for power. See why it‘s so heavy?

Full review https://www.TheBibliophage.com
#aboutneighbors #booked2023

Excellent historical fiction about a family on the outskirts of Strasbourg during the dancing plague of 1518. Rather than focusing on the plague, this is a story of women's lives, love, rage, family, and friendship during a time when men wielded religion like a cudgel to control and overpower women and anyone who was different. It is a beautiful story of family born and found among the women attempting to navigate life in difficult times.

The brackets have spoken. Best Nonfiction Ten Steps to Nanette and fiction The Dance Tree. Mostly I just love looking at all the great books I read last year.

#12DaysofChristmas August #12booksof22

After reading The Mercies I knew Kiran Millwood Hargrave was an author that would make my feminist historical fiction loving heart happy. I love everything about the tagged book which doesn‘t release in the US until March, I think.

Hidden Valley Road is a fascinating look at mental illness in families.

Hmmmm, 🤔 soft pick. Great powers of description, but I wasn‘t in love with the characters and the plot was a tad melodramatic for my taste. I was most intrigued by the bad guys. 😳

It‘s a blizzard outside, but my next read is set amidst a heat wave. 😃

“When they danced, they were one body with many hands and many feet, one breath in their chests and one pulse in their wrists.”

Inspired by this book, i got myself a bottle of Arka Mead. Enjoying this on the lovely event of Diwali. A very wonderful festival of lights, love and laughter to all of you! 😄🥰🥳

Happy Mail! The blurb was intriguing enough to order. 😁

Not what I would call literature but a good story that is well crafted around an interesting historical event. Without the dancing plague it probably wouldn‘t have held my interest. A solid narrative on womanhood in 16th century Roman Catholic Church empire in Europe.

With 4 months to go….Favorite fiction so far is tagged and non-fic is Ten Steps to Nanette.

#2022 reading bracket

📚 Tagged
🖋 Emily Dickinson
📺🎞 Downton Abbey
🎤 Death Cab for Cutie
🎼 Disenchanted - MCR

#ManicMonday. #LetterD

I‘m trying to make this book last. But it‘s hard. I love Kiran Millwood Hargrave.

Another great week of books. My favorite of the week is the tagged book but also loved The Colony. I enjoyed all the rest especially Rogues and Mr. Wickham. The Dance Tree is my August #BookSpin.

Yay for #BookSpin day! It came with a little serendipity as the tagged book is the book I most want to read this month. Wishing everyone a great reading month!

Visually, viscerally and intellectually stunning!! Another beautiful book by KMH. Based on true events - a medieval dancing plague, this book set in 1518 #France, transports you to a time when ( surprise, surprise) life was not easy for women and certainly not for those with limited funds & uncommon practices.
This is a quiet novel, where much of the action is in the language and setting. This was my #DoubleSpin and #FoodAndLit book for July😁

This book is GORGEOUS…both on the outside & inside 😍Its my #DoubleSpin #FoodAndLit choice ( #France )for July and a gift from the incredibly sweet @squirrelbrain 😘😘same author as The Mercies which I really enjoyed earlier this year, so HIGH EXPECTATIONS

A dancing plague, a pregnant beekeeper who's lost twelve babies, and a woman returned from six years penance for unknown sins are at the heart of this gorgeous historical fiction novel from the author of The Mercies. The dancing plague is more of a background set dressing than a feature. The real crux is the complicated relationships between the women in the novel who are surviving in a difficult century. Great read for historical fiction fans.

OMG, @squirrelbrain ❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️This book is STUNNING 🤩 My photo doesn‘t do the cover or edges any favors. I‘m just AWED by it‘s beauty and it sounds like a FABULOUS read!!!! Thank you 💜💜💜💜I‘m so touched by your thoughtfulness 🥰

Finished work so I'm doing some evening reading outside since it's like 15° cooler today that it has been

1. The Dance Tree, The Extraordinaries, and Youngblood

2. Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall

3. The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

#WeekendReads

What a wonderful book! It is a fictional account surrounding the real Dance Plague of 1518. The book explores the myriad facets of love and grief. It also very sensitively handles important themes like LGBTQIA+ love, immigration and pregnancy loss. I highly recommend this book. The descriptions were so lush and you acutely feel for the characters. The narration was superb!

Watch review on: https://youtu.be/f026n-ezFjs

Woke up early with this gorgeous view to do a little reading

Last day of May reads!

I love her writing and stories of strong women back in time. This time it‘s in Strasbourg in 1518. Such a joy to read.

New book I've been looking forward to on a coffee shop outing to do some writing and reading!

😍

Littens!!! Look at Waterstone‘s gorgeous exclusive signed edition of Hargrave‘s next book! The Mercies was one of my favorite books in 2020 and I‘m definitely looking forward to this one.

The story is set in 16th c. Strasbourg and is about the outbreak of a plague and the repercussions for a small group of women according to blurb.

Looks like it should be out later this year which I, for one, am very excited about!