Welcome to Litsy!

A collection of snapshots of life for Mexican American and Pilipino Americans in mostly Galveston Texas, this novel moves between characters to weave a community. The way the story built then receded felt rather like a hurricane, inevitable and uncertain at the same time.
It‘s a low pick for me, only because the number of characters made it hard to feel close to any, though elder Magdalena was my favorite.

With one of my first Passion Flowers 🌸

A fun epistolary murder mystery, that slowly reveals everything you need to solve the puzzle yourself. Told mostly through emails and whats app messages, ‘The Appeal‘ has a double meaning. Both as a fund raising effort for a poorly child, and for the efforts to release the wrongly convicted murderer of the late revealed victim. Clever and witty but takes commitment. It‘s not short, and there‘s a LOT of characters! But I found it worth the effort.

One of the first elections I was aware of as a kid was David Duke running for governor of Louisiana in 1991. Maybe the sitter let me watch one of his Donahue episodes, but I remember being horrified and also horrified that not everyone else hated him! So this is the story of Duke‘s, former Grand Wizard of the KKK, rise to power and prominence in politics and how it relates to politics today. An interesting read, if a bit niche.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ A bit gimmicky if I‘m being honest, but an okay celebrity memoir. Years of unknown MS symptoms + years of alcoholism. Some pretty brutal stuff flecked with Hollywood name dropping. The nonlinear storytelling didn‘t bother me like it has some folks. I thought it helped provide bits and pieces of a broader picture. Blair is an excellent narrator with one major exception: the crying spurts felt disingenuous, as if crying on cue.

This is an ambitious memoir. Sellers covers a variety of topics and balances broader concepts with small details. His writing style is engaging, but his narration is only okay. He‘s connected to Civil Rights history, but lives with anxiety. He and his wife just celebrated their twins‘ 3rd bday. But it was touch-and-go for a while.

Full review https://www.TheBibliophage.com #thebibliophage2022 #booked2022 #blackcentricimprint #pantone2022 #basil

I enjoyed the beginning of this ripped-from-the-headlines YA thriller more than its ending. The beginning is fairly realistic grooming and abuse of a teen singer by an artist based on R Kelly. But by the end, she‘s zooming around town trying to solve the mystery of his death on her own. I think the unbelievability of her crime-solving skills turned this into a so-so. Great narration on the #audiobook, though.

@Hooked_on_books is right. This provides a lot of nuance to the story of the story of the Blackwell sisters. I found myself relating more to Emily‘s love of patient care rather than Elizabeth‘s determination to educate more women. (I wonder if Elizabeth‘s reluctance had to do with an infection that cost her an eye during training.) I did not know that both sisters taught schoolchildren within 30 miles of me (and hated doing it) before ⬇️

#humannature #movember
Quote from book I‘m just finishing!

#RedRoseSeptember #HitTheNorth

I haven't actually read this yet. It's from the 'ol tbr pile. Picked it up a couple years ago at a used book sale. 🤷‍♂️

I like the author though so I plan on getting to it...someday. 😜

@arlenefinnigan @Cinfhen

#RedRoseSeptember Day 5: #HitTheNorth reminded me of this classic reviewed by Iphigene: “Gaskell‘s novel is a reflection of a changing era. Take Margaret, a woman raised in the South where things were traditional—women don‘t shake men‘s hand or work in factories. Ironically, her so called conservatism (unfamiliarity with the Northern Ways) is a misfit to the south.” Her full review here: https://wp.me/pDlzr-1B