Welcome to Litsy!

This book was SO good. A cross country train in 1920s Canada. A young black man - Baxter - is night porter, fighting a lack of sleep, money & food as he attempts to placate a bunch of white passengers & hide his queer identity from the other porters. This novel puts you square in Baxter‘s shoes & its so full of heart, you will root for him to make it. The cover looks a little romantic but this is very realistic, much more about poverty & racism

I finished my second pick from @Chelsea.Poole #auldlangspine list, and it was another winner! Mayr was a new to me author and I loved the way she took a piece of American history that‘s been glossed over effectively enough that I knew about it but hadn‘t spent much time thinking about it before, and used immersive, experiential storytelling to convey the depth of that lived experience. I see this one sticking with me for a long time. @monalyisha

#midwintersolace Settling into my favorite corner of the couch for #hyggehour with the last chunk of my #auldlangspine book and some spicy tea.

9:45 p.m. Standing next to his step box, Baxter hovers: immobile and elastic, ready to spring forward to lift a suitcase, dissect a timetable, point to the conductor, nod, lift more suitcases, now hat boxes, answer more questions, and nod, nod, nod. #firstlinefridays @ShyBookOwl

Looking forward to some extra reading time next week as I have a few days off work! My goals for #JoyousJanuary are to finish the tagged book which I‘m currently in the middle of for #AuldLangSpine, read Orlando which is my #DoubleSpin this month, and start Slouching Towards Bethlehem which is my #Bookspin. @Andrew65

@Chelsea.Poole What a great list! The only one I‘ve already read is #4. The rest seem like a really fun mix of things that have been on my radar for a while but I‘ve never picked up, and things I‘ve never heard of before. I‘m hoping to get to a fiction and a nonfiction pick during January, so these 2 are now on hold at the library, but I definitely plan to keep coming back to this list throughout the year. ♥️📚 #AuldLangSpine2024

I adored this! The sleep deprivation to the point of hallucination — I could FEEL that. I could feel the rocking motion of the train, the demands of thoughtless passengers and the deep fear of being fired for things beyond Baxter‘s control & not of his doing. I was transported into the Black porter‘s 1929 racist world, indignant on his behalf, loved him for the care he took with a traumatized child, and pleased with the hopeful conclusion.

Just what the TBR pile ordered. I was floundering in hopes of a good book that would be beyond straight forward narrative. After a few false starts, I fell into this hallucinatory gem that chugged along like the fastest train. A shame to try to explain this Giller Prize winner because of all the different bits and bobs- but way more than a Sleepy Car Porter!

Loved it. 🏳️‍🌈

Birthday Book Haul! Thanks @Caroline2 and @squirrelbrain (and my brother for the politico!)

No, I don‘t want a job but I would like the first 10 pages of the book!

BIG THANKS to @Jari-chan and @TrishB for putting this book on my #ReadersRadar - I absolutely loved it 🥰 Baxter is a young black man who works as a sleeping car porter in 1920‘s Canada, when train travel was an elegant mode of transportation . He‘s often treated poorly by the guests and management where he must hide his personal feelings and serve the needs of his compartment travelers in hopes of garnering a tip for his services. Lovely 🎧

To me it was sold as a sort of Alice In Wonderland, which is not the case. But I still don't regret having read this book. I haven't heard about the Sleeping Car Porters before and Mayr does a great job in showing us, how terrible it must've been. The reading list at the end of the book show clearly, how much work and effort she put into this book. And it truly shows.

#TheWorldIsMyOyster @Cinfhen @BarbaraBB

For next months #TitlesAndTunes I immediately thought The Sleeping Car Porter. Not because the World is Baxters Oyster, but because he tries everything to make it so. Then the song Rule The World by Walk Off The Earth popped up in my mind and refused to leave. It might isn't the most creative choice, but I think the song fits the book and the topic. It's stuck in my head now, anyways...

#TheWorldIsMyOyster @Cinfhen @BarbaraBB

Well you wouldn‘t want Baxter‘s life would you. Boy, oh boy. Character driven book that is really about being a black, gay man in the 1920s. I would not like to have been a black, gay man in the 1920s, I would also not have liked this servitude of a job. Beautifully written.

#weeklyforecast is not a lot of reading.
Over 700 emails to get through, back to back meetings Mon- Thursday and 2 work night events Tuesday & Thursday. I have no shoes to go with dresses (they‘re evening posh events) so shoe shopping tomorrow night. Be lucky to get this one read! Moan over.

#holidaybookhaul pt2
Some further purchases today! Not sure where they‘re fitting in the suitcases 😁

This is a deceptively simple and short book that carries so much weight. A black gay man works on the train attending to customers night & day. It took me a minute to get into it and then I felt the exhaustion, the fear of receiving demerits that would result in his firing, the secrecy of his desires. Esme, a little girl who has lost her mother and clings to the porter, is an especially tender touch in the book. Giller Prize winner for a reason.

A character study of a sleeping car porter named Baxter, who is gay and black. He‘s desperate to learn more about his favorite subject, dentistry, and considered lucky to hold the position he does on “the fastest train in the land” across Canada. Baxter has a rich inner life he must keep separate from his passengers who he must wait on hand and foot. A varied cast of passengers is introduced. Tensions build in this claustrophobic environment.⬇️

A nice, quiet morning at home with a new book and a cup of coffee. ✨
Finally getting to this #auldlangspine pick from @TheKidUpstairs
I also noticed it‘s a pick for the new #carolshieldsprize I heard about thanks to @shawnmooney

This book doesn‘t have much of a plot. It‘s more of an exploration of what it was like to be a gay black man working in the service industry in the 1920s. Turns out it was pretty rough, but it had its bright spots.

https://youtu.be/9vkyaFzmSUw

Here‘s the short list for the Carole Shields Awards and glad to see one of my favorites -tagged- is on the list!

https://lithub.com/here-is-the-shortlist-for-the-2023-carol-shields-prize/

Lori Feathers is a bookseller at Interabang in Dallas. Every book she has ever recommended to me has been astoundingly good. She is now a founding member of a new literary prize. Tagged is the final title on the list but I couldn‘t get the photo to cover all 5 titles.

On to the latest Giller winner, with Wesley‘s help. I know people who found it amazing and people who found it weirdly boring. I‘m fifty pages in and I feel like it could go either way.

I am bummed to report this was an underwhelming, kind of boring read. It's very different from Mayr's other books that I've read, which are very weird and eccentric, like about lesbian vegetarian vampires. This is straight historical fiction, very details focused, obviously very well researched. I just... didn't care, despite my initial interest in this slice of 1920s queer Black Canadian life. Partially it might have been the audiobook narration?

#12Booksof2022 On the tenth day of Christmas, my reading gave to me... a Giller Prize winning masterpiece.

October was also a great month for fun reads (I see you, Killers of a Certain Age and The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches), but this one topped everything. It was my number one read of 2022, so deserving of all its accolades!

#jolabokaflodswap Thank you for the lovely package and thanks to @MaleficentBookDragon for hosting

@TheKidUpstairs ‘s #AuldLangSpine list is 🔥 I‘m so so excited to dig into these titles!
Here‘s the list in original form, hopefully readable. Next I‘ll post my plans for it, which is less-than-readable.
Again, excellent matchmaking from @monalyisha ✨

4⭐️/5⭐️

Suzette Mayr wins the Giller prize!!!

My choice for the Giller 2022. However I would not be disappointed to see We Measure the Earth With Our Bodies or Lesser Known Monsters win either. We‘ll see how it shakes out with my #ShadowJury members!

So I just downloaded this from the library for my Kobo and my Kobo chose this moment to blow up. 🥴 So I ran to the bookstore and just bought a copy. Which is fine because I do love this cover. I read a complaint by someone saying they don‘t like the paper Coach House uses for their books. Personally, I love it. It‘s like card stock. #ShadowGiller

1929: Baxter is a sleeping car porter, saving his tips for his dream to become a dentist. Sleep deprived, under pressure to keep his job threatened by privileged spoiled passengers, constant racism, and the absolute fear to keep his queerness undercover has him exhausted and hallucinating. The long trip across Canada is made longer with the train stalling…absolutely brilliant. Exhausted just reading his travails. Photo: 20th Century Liner.

Well, I only predicted 2 out of 5 correctly. I‘m so pleased to see the Sleeping Car Porter made the shortlist. And I‘ve just started If an Egyptian: loving it so far.
#ShadowGiller2022

The Giller shortlist will be announced tomorrow morning. I‘ve circled my favourites, the ones I hope to see chosen. Three are by Indigenous authors, at least two are by queer authors and three authors are from my home province, Alberta. Am I biased? There are four that I haven‘t yet read, so I put a ? on those covers.
#ShadowGiller