Welcome to Litsy!

An uneven chunkster about one man in a German settlement in Russia on the banks of the Volga. It couldn‘t quite decide if it wanted to be history, fairytale or magic realism - or maybe was purposefully speaking to these genres and I missed the point.

Out of Churchill, Hitler, & Stalin, I know the least about Stalin so decided now would be the perfect time to read this first book in the two part series. How did Joseph Dzhugashvili from Georgia become the megalomaniac ruler of Russia & preside over millions of deaths of his own people?

January 2025 #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin
@TheAromaofBooks

For several weeks, Max and the rest of the little group made themselves as comfortable as they could in the cellar of a burned-out house. ... they waited for word that they could cross [the Russian border]. The Broido girl spent the days reading popular French novels that she found in the house. Many years later, she could not forget the strange contrast between the abandoned streets outside and the book-lined rooms of the empty house...

In this timely memoir, Ambassador John Sullivan tells the story of his eventful tenure at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow during a time of increasing tension, Covid lockdowns, diplomatic expulsions, and ultimately culminating in the invasion of Ukraine and the death of Sulivan's beloved wife, Grace. Sullivan is an engaging storyteller with an eye for the humorous moments in what could be a very sober recounting of a serious turning point in history.

An unbelievable account of Navalny‘s work opposing Putin‘s regime. This is mostly a prison memoir, as Navalny was arrested reentering his beloved home country of Russia after being poisoned and nearly killed prior and recovering out of the country. He, with the help of his team, has continued to speak from his prison cell, reporting on the the atrocities such as lack of food and healthcare until his untimely death at the hands of the state. ⬇️

#52bookclub24 #52booksin52weeks

Today, I made Karelian pasties, using mainly this recipe: https://www.saimaalife.com/recipe-finnish-karelian-pies/ I was very bad at shaping them 😞
I served them with mushroom soup, which although not specifically Finnish I thought would go well with them. Quite nice.
#Finland #FoodandLit
@Catsandbooks @Texreader

Alexei Navalny loved his county but hated the corruption of its leaders, so he used his training as a lawyer to investigate that corruption and expose it with evidence on his blog. This led him into politics and eventually into challenging Putin for the presidency. This extraordinary memoir shows his humanity, humor, and love for country and family. Everyone should read this.

I could honestly repost Mulvaney‘s entire conversation, but I think I‘ll just highlight this. #mulvaney #mickmulvaney #thedivider #peterbaker #susanglasser #ukraine #russia #foreignpolicy #corruption #donaldtrump #impeachment #presidency #internationalpolitics #worldhistory #history #politicalscience