Welcome to Litsy!

In May, I read 6 books, all of which were REALLY good. America is not the heart & The map of us were both REALLY REALLY good. Was pleased to get back into my #europebybook translated reads, & am loving NetGalley & my kindle right now.

Also moved to a town with amazing views, did absurd amounts of cleaning, & am getting my head round some medical stuff. Hoping for actual Wifi (BT 👎) and more Litsy time in June.

#maywrapup #ro18

A sweet (but not cutesy) story of a homeless man who finds a tiny glowing pink elephant. The story flips between Schoh caring for the elephant, how he came into being, & the 'evil scientists' hunting to get him back.

I'm quite divided - the book's trying to be so many things! It raises questions of ethics, animal rights & genetic modification alongside a warm story of people-that-care. The ending won me over tho, so a pick for that reason.

My current read for #NetGalleyTBRAttack.

A homeless man, Schoh, wakes up to find he's sharing his sleeping quarters with a tiny glow-in-the-dark pink elephant. The story switches between Schoh's efforts to care for the elephant and how it came into existence in the first place. I'm not too sure how I feel about this yet - Schoh's story seems much more engaging than the backstory so far.

#EuropeByBook #Switzerland #NetGalley #Elefant

An unusual book that would happily take a second reading.

After his wife's death, Thomas Davies, gardener to Mr Charles Darwin, is struggling with grief & bringing up his two children, who are written off as sickly & slow. The village provides casseroles & judgement.

The writing is beautiful- streams of consciousness flitting between the villagers and the land. Religion, science, outsiders & electricity abound. Thomas just gets on with his life.

Really enjoying this slightly out-there little book about god, godlessness and science, set in Victorian England. It's translated from the Finnish, and reminds me in style of Mink River - streams of consciousness of all the people/things. It's kind of lovely!
#womenintranslation #europebybook #finland

My #januarywrapup. I've read some fab books this month! #ro18

And for the challenges:
#PassportLitsy - Palestine by Joe Sacco
#Booked2018
•Cozy - The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
•Feminist classic - Men Explain Things to me
•POC author and #PoetryChallenge - Kumukanda by Kayo Chingonyi

Next month I plan to get catch up on translated books for #readaroundtheworld & #europebybook, & hopefully finish up this quarter's #Booked2018 categories.

This is on the pick/so-so border for me. It was unique and well-done, but not my thing. The owner of a neighbourhood bar in the Paris suburbs has been murdered. Through the monologues the suspects give to the police, & the voice of the corpse himself, we hear of their lives and that day.

Towards the end, I started to feel for some of the unlikeliest characters - I'd look out for future books by Guène - think she might have more up her sleeve!. ?

💙

Short stories from a Polish author- beautiful and intriguing, set mainly on the Baltic Sea coast. I loved it! Very atmospheric, stories of strangers and refugees; dreams, ghosts, myths, history and the present all overlap. I've come away wanting to know more about so many things, and will search out more by Huelle.

This was my November #EuropeByBook for #Poland. I'm reading books in #translation from round Europe.

A cautious pick. I'll read more Wallander, but this may have been a slightly strange one to start with. (Though if I insist on starting with no. 8 in the series...)

If you read this one, before you start, remember 1997. Did you use the Internet? Own a mobile phone? What did you know about the online world? Turns out 1997 was longer ago than I thought. 👇

👆Translator's note on the back cover.

More please.

Two short stories, just 40 pages, translated from Maltese. Contemporary #Malta, a small island in the Mediterranean, and a transit point in on migrant routes to Italy. A story and perspective I haven't heard/read before, but may well re-read straight away.

If you come across anything else from Midsea Books, definitely worth taking a look.

#EuropeByBook