Welcome to Litsy!

The weekend is almost over.😩 I'm starting the new Kirsten Miller.

Every type of bigotry addressed in this book- in a light hearted but serious way. Some brilliant characters and a lot of positive messages, about communities, good people and, of course, books. A lovely read.

This book should be mandatory reading in schools, especially with some of the things happening in our country right now. The rest of my review is in the comments (and the pic) because it‘s too long for Litsy. Book#61in 2024

It‘s a love letter to books, their importance, and the power they have to create empathy and change people. This one will be in my top five for 2024, no doubt. This book is EVERYTHING!! Backwards small towns and how they got there, people standing up against those that fuel fear about the “problems” but ARE the problems, and people learning to love each other. This book needs to be flung frisbee-style at every reader everywhere. 10/10 🏆✊🫶👏🤟

Even the author‘s note in this book is perfection. Everything in this book is perfection.

#BookMail

📚Manga for my daughter
📚Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books is a shelf-trophy
📚Of Jade and Dragons bought purely for its beautiful cover (yes, I'm shallow like that)

Loved this!! So funny and clever, pulls no punches yet heartwarming and hopeful (if idealistically so). It‘s also full of compassion and recognizes the humanity of and forces that shaped each and every character (and their culture). Great January LaVoy narration, too. 🩵

Small town in Georgia, the usual biases (definitely not found just in the south). When Lula Dean can't ban baby-yoga (indoctrination into Hinduism), her latest target is books. A committee is formed and books are banned from the library shelves. A LFL is set up in front of Lula's house, stocked with books approved by her. Only, a prankster changes all the books with ones on the banned list and by that sets things in motion

The ending made me 🥹

“Offer (Delvin) lemonade and yammer on about the weather. Meanwhile she was making lists of books that Delvin‘s kids shouldn‘t be allowed to read. When you have everything, the only luxury left is taking things away from others. It was an indulgence that Lula Dean certainly seemed to relish.”

Thirty-four pages in and I‘m OBSESSED!! Small town, Little Free Library, banned books, schools bowing down to bs demands for books to be removed from library shelves, and people that are about to fight against it. HELL, YES!!!! ✊✊✊

Started this on the tram to an appointment and nearly missed my stop.

It's so important, but I fear the people who should read it won't.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This novel is so of-the-moment and revels in the mightiness of books. It‘s not necessarily realistic or overly nuanced, but it‘s heartening and hopeful. It deals with serious topics, but it‘s also fun to read. I would highly recommend reading this as an audiobook; the narration is incredible! 🎧

This started strong for me as a witty tongue-in-cheek story where I saw some comical trouble brewing right off the bat, and I was ready to ride that zippy ride! But then, it was…a lot.
A lot of characters (omg, a whole damn town‘s worth, my middle-age brain cannot hold all those names!).
A lot of topics, all worth discussing but maybe not all at once?
An unexpected level of heaviness.
Low pick. Felt exhausting. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is a must because it makes the reader stare down the idea and origin of division among beliefs and how they are tearing society apart. It is hard to hold opinions, to share them, to question them when you hold them up to the light.