Welcome to Litsy!

Decided to get out of the house so I could have a quiet place to sit and read for a bit.

Here are my #bookspin and #doublespin books for September. I‘m taking a break from #bookspinbingo this month, but really excited to tackle these novels. My middle son is named Asher and both of these books have been on my TBR for years!

Thanks @TheAromaofBooks for hosting another month of #bookspin fun! 😁

I cannot wait to begin to read this book.

A story that was painful to read...beautifully written, emotionally believable portrayal and easily followed. A boy, born as a prodigy painter/artist into a family with no artistic understanding or any desire for it, actually repelled by it and both encouraged and discouraged in his formative years, culminating in devastation. I was raptly attentive throughout, heartbroken in many ways about his childhood and at the end. 5 stars!

"The fact is that gossip, rumors, mythmaking, and news stories are not appropriate vehicles for the communication of nuances of truth..."

My Name is Asher Lev is the first part of Potok's story about a Hasidic Jewish boy who scandlizes his community by painting a crucifixion, reminiscent of Marc Chagall's work.

I can‘t even begin to tell you how much I love this book! ❤️

“I would put all the world into light and shade, bring life to all the wide and tired world. It did not seem impossible thing to do.”

Asher is a young boy who wants to paint. But his orthodox father is not so keen. Asher reads The Art Spirit...

One of my favorite books from way back. You can't help but feel the passion for art and the pain it causes in Asher's life. I recommend this book to anyone who will listen!

1. My Name is Asher Lev
2. I want to eat my way around the Mediterranean
3. @kellyann28
Thanks!

Sigh. A disappointment. It‘s always nice reading about Jewish characters, especially ones more observant than me because it‘s familiar but also new and motivates me (not that I want to be Orthodox). And I like the exploration of one‘s desires and religion clashing. But good lord, this was so slooooowww. Pages and pages of the same conversations. Asher was flat and wooden and honestly just turned into a jerk IMO. Unpopular opinion, I guess! 2/5 ⭐️

Somehow I‘ve never read this one, so I gotta get my Jew-points up. (BTW I‘m Jewish and it‘s ok for us to use the term Jew, but not for anyone who isn‘t, this is your PSA for the day #themoreyouknow)
#nowreading

A novel about a Hasidic (a mystical Jewish movement founded in Poland in the 18th century) Jew in postwar Brooklyn who is caught between his love of art and his obligations to his community. He is a firm #believer but is torn between his faith and his creativity. He tries to reconcile the two but the result is tragic.
#decdays @Cinfhen

Oh, I thought of a better #readthisnotthat! Because of how much I loved Asher Lev, I picked up this other Potok at a library book sale & chose it for my book club without pre-reading. It had none of the depth or beauty of Asher Lev. We all finished Old Men at Midnight wondering what the point was supposed to be, and a little disturbed by the way Potok described women's bodies. My advice: read Asher Lev and skip the Old Men. #maybookflowers

What a powerful and moving story. I don't think this one will ever leave me.

My husband is taking a literature class and has to read this book. So while doing errands today, I'm reading aloud to him. #qualitytime

This book has had a profound impact on me, primarily because I named my son Asher.

The name Asher means happy, and this was our hope for this child.

#ReadJanuary
#TitleWithAProperName
@RealLifeReading

This is one of my all-time favorites. A beautiful story of a young Orthodox Jewish boy in New York, a gifted artist who struggles through the clash between his art, his faith, and his family. #artrelatedbooks #seasonsreadings2016

This was such a beautiful story about Asher Lev, a Hasidic Jewish boy growing up in Brooklyn with an extremely gifted talent for art. Unfortunately, his father does not understand Asher's gift and the path that the Rebbe lays out for Asher. This is a book to read slowly to savior the words and feelings of Asher Lev while he comes to terms with who he is and his path in life.

Potok paints a vivid portrait of all of the main characters and leaves them so helpless in this story, sometimes only moving on because of the Rebbe's intervention. Asher definitely has daddy issues, but daddy sure has issues too and between all of it, they don't realize how similar they are. All of this culminates in Asher's masterpiece finding a perfect ending to the story.

I am really enjoying this so far...

Fieldtrip to DC today with middle schoolers! I am exhausted but going to try to get some pages in before I crash. Friday Night Lights...out by 10pm

❤️

This was a spur of the moment pick at the library. So far, very readable :)

Packing up my books for my move in a few weeks. The mass market paperbacks tend to fill up the empty space at the top. It's a hodge-podge.

As a nonbeliever, I normally stay away from novels that deal with religion, but this book was so moving, so powerful that I just have to make it my #recommendsday pick. This is the story of a young Hasidic boy who has the talent for art that rivals most contemporaries. In his quest for his craft, he finds himself at odds with his beliefs, his family, and his role in life. 5🌟