Welcome to Litsy!

A really good story that is about colonialism and language. Has quite a few side comments on specific words in various languages. Here is a quote near the end: “That‘s … what translation is …. Listening … and trying to see past your own biases to glimpse what they are trying to say….” Good reading!

Also starting a historical magical kind of a chunkster. I read about it and could not resist.

This was such an interesting book as it takes a look at the exploration of technology and its effects on those who don‘t have it. This was a great book that tells the story of the fight against expansion and what people are willing to go in the fight for freedom

Two recently finished books! I finally finished Babel, after a year, and the other is a buddy read with @AmyK1 for mother-daughter murder mystery book club! Really enjoyed both, though I don‘t remember a lot of Babel…. 😄

There is a lot going for this story; a foundation in the effects of colonialism, the abuses of privilege, and micro aggressions give the story its driving force and make it worth the read. Unfortunately, there is a nagging feeling that Kuang had a historical novel researched, a handful of YA characters hanging about, which she decided to drive around using a literary vehicle powered by magical silver. Question: why not let reality take the wheel?

#readyourkindle
#readyourbook
@CBee

3 kindles and 1 book. Hopefully I'll get 'em done! 🤩

I think the size intimidated me, it took months to finish.
An incredibly unique magic system based on silver and matched pairs of words in different languages is a word nerd dream.
Set in an alternate Victorian England, Robin Swift is brought to Oxford from China to study at Babel, the linguist department in charge of keeping the country running. When he is recruited by the Hermes society, he learns of their plans to bring down the empire.

As a former translator, I NEEDED to read this book. Translators at the centre of a revolution? Yes please. Despite the book's size, I couldn't put it down. I am also pro-footnotes so liked the discursive footnotes throughout the story, although the asterisk in the main text was sometimes too small for me to find. And I thought the ending was perfect. Highly recommended if the premise interests you.

Another book and shirt pairing. I visited Oxford in 2017 and would love to go back (hopefully the cafe R. F. Kuang mentions in her author‘s note is still there). Really enjoying this book! (Well, “enjoy” might not be the right word; it‘s very powerful and tackles hard truths well.)

A group of four friends with different backgrounds join Babel (Oxford‘s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation), but are soon torn apart by war.

Academia ✨ Appropriation ✨Moral Qaundry

I think the magical elements in this book worked well because it allowed me to read the Oxford setting without a need to separate fact from fiction. I feel like I was introduced to a parable I‘d never before heard, and I‘m left with all sorts of feels.

#14books14weeks2023 Book 11
@TheHeartlandBookFairy

Aug #DoubleSpin Category: over 500 pages @TheAromaofBooks

I really liked Babel! The characters and world building are fantastic, my only complaint is that the pacing was a little slow in the middle. Also, without any spoilers, I'm very relieved the end ended where it did; I've consumed enough media lately where foreshadowing isn't taken seriously, but Kuang is very deft at it.

This book is so good! I‘m going to have to sit with it for a while to decide how I feel about it, but I can‘t deny that the author makes some excellent points, and the book is so well written! I love all the wordsmithing and etymological lessons in this book! And I love the concept of using magic in place of the Industrial Revolution.

And here‘s my May #bookspin list! I really need to finish the tagged (I‘ve been putting it off…) and the others are ones I‘m excited to read!

“There was no straddling the line; he knew that now. No stepping back and forth between two worlds, no seeing and not seeing, no holding a hand over one eye or the other like a child playing a game. You were either a part of this institution, one of the bricks that held it up, or you weren‘t.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow what a fantastic book! Victorian era, revolution, decolonization, and a magic system built on linguistics— this was all my favorite things mashed up into a powerful, heartbreaking but hopeful story ❤️

📸 from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/11-untranslatable-words-f_b_3817711

I see what all the hype is about with Babel, though it‘s definitely not something I‘d have picked up to read if it weren‘t for #ToB2023. I listened to to audiobook which was well done, though longer than I usually like to listen to, at 22 hours. At points I wished it would get on with it already, but it‘s very atmospheric and I was invested throughout. Serious Harry Potter vibes and I‘d even say Secret History too. Also, #bookspin for February.

Dark academia gives me serious vibes.
#darkacademia #gothic #booklove

Very well written and an epic story about language and power. A Must read

I liked this a lot, despite never having a full grasp on the powers of a match-pair. 😬 Also a tad long.
#ToB2023 #ToB23

Another soft pick. I had a hard time looking at this fantasy novel as an alternative history since it seemed to me that 90% of it was just plain history and it happened without any magic required. And as others have noted, it‘s very heavy handed in its message. The concept of translation/silver magic was neat, however. The end, while not surprising, was still quite emotionally wringing and Kuang really made me care about the characters. #ToB2023

This book was lovely and painful and heartbreaking and hopeful. A hard read but a good one. Well developed world, fascinating ideas around the magic system development and how it would interact with history. But the fundamental story isn't a magic story. It's a story about Empire and what it takes to break one. Many, many content warnings for the book, but it ends hopefully, in my opinion.

"That's the great contradiction of colonialism...it's built to destroy that which it praises most."

With a random picture of our recent high surf (usually there's a beach there, but for the past couple of weeks, it's been all ocean and cliffs).

I loved this book! I am a big fan of the Poppy Wars Trilogy, but this book topped that. It did get a little wordy at times, but it was so detailed it was worth it! Five stars

Weird and fascinating and I‘m loving it so far!
#ToB2023 #ToB23

This book was ‘WOW‘! Bloody brilliant! I learnt a lot! Anyone who loves language and fantasy will love this book. This next passage is so profound and one of my favourites.
“I think translation can be much harder than original composition in many ways. The poet is free to say whatever he likes, you see - he can choose from any number of linguistic tricks in the language he‘s composing in. Word choice, word order, sound ⬇️

Good morning 🌞 💛

This Fairy Loot edition is so beautiful, I‘m almost afraid to read it 😂

December‘s #botm choices. I earned a badge, so more reading-themed socks for me! I‘m thinking of ending BOTM after December. Does anyone have any recommendations for other book-themed subscription boxes? #botm

My #botm picks for December! Seeing them posted so early was a great surprise.

What a wonderful dark academia novel for fall! A boy from Canton is taken to England to study languages and become a student at Babel in Oxford where his fluency in multiple languages will help with their primary area study: silverworking, which utilizes etomolygy and translation to create something akin to magic. The story delves deep into empire and colonialism and the ways languages/ translation are influenced by them.

Huge thank you, @TrishB for getting me a signed copy.

After putting this down and picking it up again over and over, I've eventually finished.

It was good. I liked it. The subtitle was enough of a pre-warning but somehow the violence still put me off a bit. Not to mention the constant reminders that colonialism is bad.

Low pick - 3.5/5 stars

Last book for #OutstandingOctober @Andrew65

#Scarathlon #WordSearch #Evil @StayCurious

Back to your regularly scheduled programming of book and cat.

@StayCurious #Scarathlon #WordSearch #TeamMonsterMash #Spell

I love a sprayed and stamped edge! #Fairyloot #TeamMonsterMash #ScarathlonDailyChallenge #PhotoChallenge #Black #NowReading #DarkAcademia @StayCurious

#Scarathlon2022 Day 1.

Hopefully I will get this book read at some point this month!

#TeamSlaughter
@Clwojick

The narrator for this is fabulous!! I would like him to read all the books, please.

The book itself is pretty good, too!

#audiobooks #newbooks