Welcome to Litsy!

#SummmerEndReadathon
This is a hard book to rate, because the good parts were easily 4-5 stars, but overall, the book was too unfocused and I didn‘t appreciate Ackerman‘s tendency to indulge in fanciful flights of imagination. She would say something might have happened a certain way and then describe her imagined scene in rich detail. She writes too poetically to tell this harrowing war story in a compelling way and it was a struggle to get into.

Good Lord, I hope the whole book isn‘t this ridiculously overwritten. “Fragrant reveilles”? “A thousand moist prisms ornament the juniper”? “The rhumba of bees”?

My god, woman, get a hold of yourself! Where‘s the editor?

Starting my #doublebookspin today. I can‘t believe I‘ve managed to keep up this year! I‘ve managed to read both books every month 🤣 @TheAromaofBooks

#LetterZ #AlphabetGame @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks It‘s the last letter!!! What‘s next? This has been so much fun. Thank you to everyone who played. 🥰📚🎉

This book was a so-so read for me. Unfortunately, it‘s been awhile since I read it so I can‘t tell you why.
Challenge complete.

Thanks Misty for hosting #AlphabetGame! It‘s been fun.

I read so many books set in the WW2 era that I loved. This wasn‘t one of them. Way too much of this book read as either a history or a science lesson. I noticed that the authors writing style incorporates a lot of lists. I can‘t help but wonder if that was done as a space filler. This was especially evident in the audio book version. Im disappointed, as I was so looking forward to reading this.

I never cared to read anything about history or the war before but after hearing a lot of hype of another book it peaked my interest. Gonna give this one a try.

My tv attempted to kill me today. Fortunately it‘s just a nasty bump and abrasion that seemed a lot worse then it was.

Trying to read the tagged book but it‘s not holding my attention. I just want to watch some mindless tv but, the tv made out worse then I did.

“I don't understand all the fuss. If any creature is in danger, you save it, human or animal.”

It's day 3 of a 7 day lockdown here in Melbourne & I should be face painting all day at the Royal Melbourne Zoo but instead I'm reading The Zookeeper's Wife in bed.
Yesterday was spent cleaning my garage & preparing for online schooling next week! Keeping busy & productive 😁

This book is incredible in terms of facts in & around Warsaw during the German occupation in Ww2.
Looking forward to watching the movie when I finish.
Only 50 pages left!

I've just read chapter 20 about pediatrician Henryk Goldszmit/Janusz Korczak. The saddest chapter so far.

Reading this amazing true story at the moment!

#2021Book20
The story told within this biography was incredibly interesting. However, it was written more like a collection of facts presented one after another. I realize that's what a biography is, but most of the time they are written more like a novel in order to pull in the reader. I would have liked to get inside the characters' heads a little more, which should have been possible considering most of them kept detailed journals.

Folks generally seem to be so-so about this book, but in the first 30 minutes I learned interesting facts about linden trees and their connection to churches and that elephants can get herpes on their trucks. If that‘s all I get out of this book I‘ll consider it a win. 🤪🤪😜😜

1) Besides the normal chores & groceries I will be audiosewing and reading.
2) Louise Penny and Willy Vlautin
3) I don‘t do creepy...to big of a wimp.

#wondrouswednesday @Eggs

#FlyHighJuly @Eggs
#FenceOnCover

#fenceoncover
#flyhighjuly

A great book! This book is full of as much factual information as a textbook, but it‘s brilliantly weaved through the story of Antonina‘s life during the occupation of Poland. And so fun to hear about the animals!

COVID-19 has brought shared trauma into all of our lives, but Ackerman has helped me to view things in a new perspective.

“She had had so many plans for the coming year, now she wondered if she and Rys would survive the night. If she lived to see Jan again. If her son would celebrate another birthday. ‘Every day of our life was full of thoughts of the horrible present and even our own death‘ she wrote in her memoirs.”

Another book club pick. This is a nonfiction book about the story of a courageous woman in the middle of WWII in Warsaw, Poland. I am always interested in reading books about strong women during WWII. Within her story, there was some really interesting insight into how Warsaw survived the war and Nazi occupation. The stories about the animals and the overwhelming humanity found on both sides of the war was so interesting!!! Definite recommend!

This is the only book set in #Poland that I know I‘ve read. Unfortunately I did not like the author‘s writing style but the true story told here is a worthy one. #LetsTravelAugust

True story

#Poland #letstravelaugust @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620

Having seen the film and recently read several books based in Warsaw during WW2 I thought this was an obvious next choice. I really struggled to get into it and could not engage with the characters. Sadly, I gave up and will probably not be revisiting

I tried for about 156 pages to get into this. Tried really hard I was expecting a fantastic novel that pulled my heart strings and instead it was this patchwork quilt of stories that was confusing and hard to follow.... super bummed. Maybe I‘ll try the movie??

This is the account of the Warsaw Zoo & the Nazi resistance that arose from the zookeeper & his wife. Hiding Jews in plain sight, they "fought" against Germany's quest to annihilate anyone (human or animal) Nazis did not see as "pure." A terrifying account at times, this was a more interesting historical account than it was a masterful story. Try as I might I could not make an emotional connection despite the horrific context.

“I don‘t understand all the fuss. If any creature is in danger, you save it, human or animal”
-Perfect book with a perfect quote for a long road trip to pick up our new puppy 🐶 ❤️

I generally love war-time books, especially true stories. It‘s not that I didn‘t enjoy reading this book, but that I often found myself skimming or having to re-read passages because I couldn‘t get fully engaged in the story or the tangents.

This book had so much potential. I was looking for “a war story” as the cover espouses. What the reader gets is more like a recounting of various historical texts. The author doesn‘t want to speak for the people about whom she is writing, so the text mixes tense and moves from a story writing style to a textbook style quickly and often. I found it distracting. I did find the history interesting and learned a few new things. ⭐️⭐️/5

I really enjoyed it.
A war story with some good Information

This is what my morning looks like. Hopefully, most of my day will look the same. Hubby is taking 3/4 of the kids to see Captain Marvel. My college kid can‘t go - he‘s quarantined in his room, sick with an upper respiratory virus, fever and body aches (tested negative for flu). Poor kid is spending the beginning of his Spring Break sick. I‘ll be reading and taking care of his needs today. 🤒😷❤️📚

This book is not all I hoped it would be but it has its moments. Just before this, the author is explaining through quoted text that the children of the Ghetto couldn‘t fathom the concept of distance. Their mothers explained it to them by describing open fields where the sky meets the earth and forests of trees as far as the eye can see. I found this heartbreaking, as so much of what people endured during this time period is.

It‘s been a day full of minor frustrations. I‘m letting them go with a little help from my pup, my book, and a Leinenkugel‘s Snowdrift. There‘s a little thunderstorm rolling through and tonight, this is my heaven. There was a horrific 12 car accident only a mile from my home on Monday with two lives lost, one a community leader and one a 7 year old boy. The community is still reeling from it. Be kind to one another and let those frustrations go.

Dinner with my Book Club BFFs tonight. They fuel my soul. Isn‘t this cocktail napkin cute?!? We are reading The Zookeepers Wife and all feel that same way about it so far - moving along at a slow pace making it hard to read, and the author is trying so hard to write the factual history (this is non-fiction after all) that the reader loses out on what could be a great story. We shall see how it finishes... #bookclub #besties #lifelongfriends

Alright ladies, which one do you think? It was really hard finding books under 400 pages, but I finally found a few. I‘m partial to the tagged book, but am totally willing to do any of them. #LMPBC #groupb @Littlestbookshelf @Mynameisacolour @Bookwormjillk

Great book, I loved the great detail.

I went to buy my next book club book, The Zookeepers Wife, and accidentally brought home 5 extra books. 🤷‍♀️📚 Can‘t resist book deals. #bookhaul #blamelitsy #oops

📚 The Zookeeper's Wife (in my tbr pile 😁)
🙎‍♀️ Gabrielle Zevin
🎬 Zookeeper
🥒 Zucchini

Thanks for the fun #ManicMonday #letterz @JoScho ! 👍🤗💕

I hate that it is the movie cover (#booksnob) but I love this book! While much of the narrative revolves around Antonina Zabinski, wife of the director of the Warsaw zoo, it is much more the story of Poland before, during, &after WWII. The Zabinskis risked everything to help Jews escape the Nazis but you also learn what life was like in war-time Warsaw. As the gr. gr. granddaughter of a Polish immigrant, I loved learning about where I come from.

Why was it, she asked herself, that “animals can sometimes subdue their predatory ways in only a few months, while humans, despite centuries of refinement, can quickly grow more savage than any beast?”
-Antonina Zabinski

I got this book at the Lincoln City Libraries annual book a few months ago. Cracked it open to find somebody‘s lost shopping list. Do hope they got their deodorant 😂 #thingsfoundinbooks

This is a look at Jan and Antonina's (proprietors of the Warsaw Zoo) journey during WW2. So sad what was done to the people and animals.

Also, this is the last of my #LitsyAtoZ challenge! 🎉🎉
@BookishMarginalia

A well written view into a part of history often talked about, but from a new perspective, a new story that's truly amazing. A deeper look into Warsaw and the effects on the war not just to humans, but the animals too. A definite read!

An in-depth account of war-time Warsaw, and the role Jan and Antonina Zabinski played in the underground Polish resistance. I thought this book was compelling, but I feel like it could have been shaped or paced better. There were lots of very detailed anecdotes about their lives during the war, and sometimes it was hard to see how those individual stories fit inside the big picture of the war.

This book changed a lot about what I decide to read now. My first book transitioning from fiction into nonfiction, I was completely enthralled with this book from beginning to end. Such vivid descriptions of what actually took place. This is now what I spend the majority of my time reading, historical nonfiction. The movie was an awful take on the book however.

My latest betterworldbooks.com haul!! Love this site.. cheap used books at amazing prices. Plus it helps fund literacy programs around the world as well

The writing was at times a bit uneven, disorganized, and hard to follow (particularly at the end of the book), but I still enjoyed it and learned a lot. The descriptions of the interactions between the humans and animals were delightful! 3.5 stars, I would say.

#AugustIsATrip #Poland @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @vkois88

Meh. Not very cohesive but well researched