Welcome to Litsy!

15 year old Wren lives in the West Virginia mountains. She is cut off from the world by her snake handling preacher father. Her mother‘s true soul mate is her best friend who has pledged to always stay close and protect her. As a series of tragedies occur Wren starts to unravel all of the secrets of her family and emerge from her seclusion. I really liked this. Vivid characters and the story unwound in ways that surprised me. #14books14weeks book4

I didn‘t want to read this book but I decided to do it to see what Vance had to say before he sold his soul. I‘ve read about many other experiences from people of color and didn‘t think I would find anything remarkable here; I didn‘t. Vance had a rough childhood and adolescence which he is very open about in this memoir, but it doesn‘t justify the monstrous policies he now supports or the vile thing he has become. Maybe I‘m wrong, but I think⤵️

Received this book in a box for my Little Free Library ~ glad I added it to my personal shelf first.

Demon is someone you root for as you move through his life experiences. I had to renew this audio from Libby three times to get through the whole story. It's definitely a pick for me but the story seemed a bit long. ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

This slow-paced novel is set mostly in the Ohio Appalachian Mountains. Growing up literally dirt poor and basically abandoned by her parents, Jodi grows up with her grandmother on Bethlehem Mountain. Jodi gets involved with a woman & makes some tragic decisions. Life gives her another chance, but will Jodi fall back into old habits? 4/5⭐️

Thinking I may need to shift to books that are about escaping our current reality, as I keep reading the opposite and it‘s heavy. 🙃 But this is a good one, by a well-known sociologist (still doing vital work in her mid-eighties!) and based on ethnographic research where she deeply studies and truly listens to those whom we might perceive as voting against their own interests. A powerful takeaway is Hochschild‘s assertion that many (who ⬇️

Reading for March bookclub as chosen by Vicki. Started reading on my Kindle but couldn't get into it so downloaded as an audiobook. I usually love Appalachian literature and appreciate this book is an uplifting book on the area instead of drug fueled stories but the writing is banal and the book boring.

Bailed on it but went back to the audiobook as it is a bookclub book,, and it is getting better but still not one I would recommend.

A well done, investigative reporting in Appalachia of a community before and after a white nationalist march in Pikeville, KY. Interviews with residents give shape to the frustrations of loss, shame, and poverty though they work hard yet can‘t get ahead. It‘s a great book, but it didn‘t make me feel better.

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