James: A Novel | 
pickWow. Absolutely brilliant.
6 likes
pickIf you didn't hate The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, you'll love James. It is refreshing to get the story from Jim's POV. I loved the idea that he and other slaves were just putting on the “slave talk“ for the benefit of white people, to appear less educated than they were. Highly recommend!
pickFinally, a book that lived up to the hype! The story was a retelling of Huckleberry Finn from the slave‘s point of view. I‘ll admit, I‘ve never read the original book. This inspires me to. I loved the main character, James. He seems like a man I‘d be proud to know. A good way to describe this book is “adventurous” and “tense”. I found it to be a very quick read, and highly recommended it.
pickI can see what the hype was all about with this book. This was a great re-imagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but through Jim's point-of-view. Though this book was listed under humor, I didn't find funny. It was more tragic than anything else. What Jim and other slaves went through was just horrible. However, I loved Jim's determination to save his family. I give it 4 ⭐️.
#bookspin #3 #bookspinbingo
Next listen-
2024 National Book Award
Told from the perspective of Jim, the runaway slave, from Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (learn from my mistakes - NO NEED TO READ TO PREPARE). Would anyone like to do a buddy read? Very informal - just read and share thoughts of each chapter. No time table. Could take all year or a week.
pick5/5 🌟
I grew up loving the Adventures of Tom Sawyer cartoon series, so I‘m glad this book didn‘t disappoint. It‘s clever and offers a harrowing yet compelling perspective on slavery and racism through Jim‘s eyes. The writing is spot on, and the idea that slave talk was intentionally shaped to feed white people's sense of superiority is brilliant—my favourite part. Brilliant, brilliant book!!
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
I read “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” in high school, but I didn‘t remember if lot of it (or particularly… like it? 😬) Even after brushing up on it before reading “James”, I know I‘m missing layers of brilliance with this reimagining and wish I could go to a lecture analyzing it all. It also stands on its own, though - compelling and multifaceted. 🎧
I have a new found love of Legos and this cute library sucked me into looking for more bookish legos.
My we‘re about to be getting a snow day or two reading has begun! I love snow and central VA doesn‘t get enough for it to count.
pick5⭐. I wasn't on the Percival Everett bandwagon after trying and failing to get through Erasure. But this book is amazing. Well-written and creative.
HE has arrived! Mr. Everett has been on my radar for quite sometime and I‘m finally getting to see what the hype is all about. I‘m only 20 pages in but I already see that Mr. Everett will have me in a chokehold for the next few days.
I absolutely loved this one.
#12BooksOf2024 @Andrew65
January bookclub pick by Vicki, so popular I wasn't sure I could get it in time but the ebook finally showed up on my Kindle. Started last night and liking it very much so far.
This is quite the adventure story.
pickMy last book of the year was my favorite. James acknowledges that Black Lives Matter throughout American history and literature. Absolutely brilliant.
July was a great reading month for me but I have to give my #12BooksOf2024 pick to James, read for #CampLitsy24 & one of my favorites of the year. The audiobook narration quality added to my rating of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Honorable Mentions included: The Art Thief, Stone Blind, Murder Road, Just For the Summer & A Novel Love Story (I told you it was great month!) 📚📚📚
How is it time to think about #BookspinBingo 2025? Got my new planner for 2025 so it must be! My list for January :) @TheAromaofBooks
pickThis novel, a retelling of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, lived up to all the hype. I've loved everything from Percy Everett that I've read so far.
#HolidayBookDragons #WinterGames2024 @LiseWorks
#gottacatchemallwinteredition (friendship) @PuddleJumper
#ChristmasAtoZ #letterP @TexReader
#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks
#ToB25
My #24in2024 📚📚
1 poetry
9 NF
3 mystery
7 Historical Fiction
4 Literary fiction
This grid was filled with a pile of stories that were okay. But I‘m sure glad I prioritized the tagged - I will think about it for a long time.
5* = Loved It, want to shout out loud about this book! I do/will own/keep a physical copy. A+
4*= I liked it, would love to discuss. Solid B
3*=Meh, no need to discuss. Avg C
2*=Nope D
1*=DNF F
pick5 Stars • "James" by Percival Everett is a novel that reimagines Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" from the perspective of Jim, the enslaved character. It has received widespread acclaim, winning the 2024 National Book Award for Fiction and being shortlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize. The novel explores themes of identity, freedom, and the harsh realities of slavery with both humor and profound seriousness.
pickOver half a century has passed since I read, watched, imagined, and loved the adventures of Tom and Huck. I hope it was just the young girl in me… wanting to Nancy Drew Becky Thatcher up and get more of her perspective of life on
the Mississippi, because I don‘t recall wondering about Jim‘s perspective… I‘m humbled.
pickIt‘s hard to imagine any book living up to the incredible hype this book has sustained. While I wasn‘t quite as blown away as most folks, I definitely got onboard Jim‘s adventure. I do love to see story elements we all know through a completely different lens. Subversive and compelling.
I had so many 5 star reads in November that I filled out both my bonus slots in addition to my Nov pick! James, Hell Folows With Us, and Lucy Undying all made their way to the bracket.
#BookBracket2024 @CSeydel
pickThis book definitely deserved book of the year from Barnes and noble - hopefully more places think similarity. This story had my attention from page 1. The story felt familiar, yet so different. Read like a short book, yet the story felt fleshed out. I loved this story, with Jim‘s varying views on the world around him as a slave. He was a very compelling character. My only complaint is that the ending like 10 pages closed things down too fast imo
pickJames just won the National Book Award for its brilliant retelling of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from Jim's perspective.
pickIf you haven't read this book yet, what are you doing? It's on every best-of list this year for a reason. Jim from The Adventures of Huck Finn, who actually prefers James, finally gets to tell his own story. It's subversive and brilliant. Read it.
"I had never seen a white man filled with fear. The remarkable truth, however, was that it was not the pistol, but my language, the fact that I didn't conform to his expectations, that I could read, that had so disturbed and frightened him."
I‘m apparently not the audience for the “best” books of the year. I‘ve read a whopping three off the NYT list and five off the NPR list.
There‘s some overlap between the lists and some interesting divergence. Camp Litsy is well represented! (Actual picks and some of the “bridesmaids.”)
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/11/26/books/notable-books.html?rsrc=flt...
https://apps.npr.org/best-books/#view=list&year=2024
pickI liked this novel but I didn‘t love it and I felt that it is perhaps a bit overhyped. That being said, the writing is lovely and interesting viewpoint of the classic Huck Finn.
pickI admired this novel greatly but didn‘t love it. Excellent writing, it‘s a re-telling of Huck Finn from James‘ so a boys own adventure, not my usual thing, but Everett makes it compelling. Layered with meaning & humour, he‘s drawing our attention to issues of race, slavery & who owns history, with a simple story. Episodic so lacked some narrative tension for me, but faultless writing & dialogue.
pickIt‘s been more than 30 years since I read Huck Finn in high school and I remember almost none of it. I loved this retelling from Jim‘s perspective though. I read it for #sharonsaysso book club and can‘t wait for the author meeting 😁
Also, now I feel like I need to read Huck Finn again lol
Perfection is a cozy evening of reading in front of a fire!!
Congratulations to Percival Everett for winning the 2024 National Book Award! 🏆✨ To say we‘re excited for the film adaptation is an understatement 🎬🍿
#aardvarkbookclub #james #percivaleverett #nationalbookaward
Congrats to Percival Everett!
https://www.writingafrica.com/w-paul-coates-percival-everett-feted-at-us-nationa...
pickHeavy sigh. Everett has left me with more questions than answers, but that‘s a good thing. I suppose a sequel and/or a prequel is too much to hope for.
I have two fox themed morning mugs to cheer me up during next four years of sound bites.
pickI was nervous this would be one of those “I don‘t get all the hype” books for me (it‘s happened several times). It wasn‘t! I loved it! Yay! 😀👍👏
Also, the audio was fantastic.
I'm wanting to read James, but I haven't read Huckleberry Finn (not sure how, but I've never read any Twain). Should I read that first?
pickYay a win of a read! This was excellent. A retelling of Huckleberry Finn, with a mix of adventure, heartbreak, fear and joy. I really enjoyed it, a quick read too! 5⭐️
My first #bookspinbingo!
Seconds later…..this is a good reminder not to let others live in my head. I think I should rewatch the Inside Out movies too. 😔
pickAlmost didn‘t make it through this one. The first half was so slow and too closely followed Huck. Felt like the author was more interested in being clever than writing something interesting. But once Huck was out of the picture and even when he came back, I saw what so many critics and others became enamored with.
