Welcome to Litsy!

A little Korean girl immigrated and found her name too hard to pronounce for her new country. She begins a name jar. What will she pick? Will she find that her name is best?
#ISpyBingoOct @TheAromaofBooks

I am committed to finishing this, hopefully in November but absolutely in 2025. I started it in 2014, it was a gift. My plan then was to read a chapter a month. It is so full of information and real life stories, it can be overwhelming and break your heart. Today I read schizophrenia; “autism is characterized by an over abundance of synaptic connectivity, schizophrenia is marked by a dearth of it.” #nonfictionnovember #finishwhatyoustarted

November TBR

I have grabbed a few short nonfiction books from the library to balance out the tag and dive into #NonfictionNovermber

2 weeks in!
2 books down!

#10beforetheend

I am starting the tagged today, but it is a big one and might take me a minute so I am going to try to fit in The Message also this week.

This is a supremely frustrating book. The writing is great, but it is in desperate need of editing. It goes on and on in a way that just makes it a slog, then finally perks up in the last quarter. The only reason I stuck with it was that I was determined not to bail on two #NBAshortlist for translated lit books in a row. If you try to read it and get bogged down, I recommend skipping forward to chapter 11 and going from there.

Another 4 books on the National Book Awards longlist. I had no idea the tagged book was such a chunkster until it arrived!

I also have 2 on order from eBay but they‘re not arriving for a few weeks yet.

I‘m reading The Antidote in print - it‘s too early to say what I think yet. I‘m also listening to The Sisters on audio and, goodness me, it‘s long! 😬

This was a great novel in verse. Poems are aligned left and right along with other spacing to highlight aspects of the story. It has wonderful literary references, figurative language, and football details. It‘s all wrapped up in the story of Kareem figuring out his own way as a Syrian American. It‘s set in 2016 & 2017 with the executive order banning international travel from Syria and other countries directly impacting Kareem‘s family.

The Remembered Soldier, by Anjet Daanje (2019, transl. 2025)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Premise: A former soldier experiencing severe amnesia and PTSD struggles to recover his memories and life after he is brought home from an asylum by a woman who identifies him as her husband.

Review: This is a stunning, deeply moving literary love story that will reward patient readers. ⬇️

Sometimes you just need to enjoy a book with your supper. I‘m already in the middle of several books, but I picked up this one that came off my holds list. It‘s a novel in verse about a middle school Syrian American boy who wants to be on the school football team. It‘s full of football and bookish references.

#TRS2025 #ReadAndEat #NovelInVerse #MiddleGrade

A fun, smart dive into the science of identity and personality. Blends neuroscience, psychology, and humor in a way that‘s both curious and personal. Quirky and thought-provoking.