Welcome to Litsy!

I did do a #bookspin list at the beginning of the month and never posted it. I saw that Summerwater (an old fave from my #roll100) and Shanghailanders (a new find at BN) were chosen.

Things are still crazy here. We‘ve gotten Dad mostly settled in the nursing home (after his second major stroke), and Mom or I is visiting every day. Today, I got clearance to bring Molly, and she came with me. It‘s just still a lot logistically and emotionally. ⬇️

3 Stars • "Flora Macdonald: The Most Loyal Rebel" by Hugh Douglas is a biography that delves into the life of Flora Macdonald, known for aiding Bonnie Prince Charlie's escape post-Culloden in 1746. It provides background on the Jacobite Rising and its aftermath, emphasizing Macdonald's role in Scottish history. While famous for helping Charles Edward Stuart, ⬇️

“...The women were already drawing lots for you when you left."

Only the ladies?

”No.”

—

This series is actually pretty queer from the start, but I wasn‘t expecting it so assumed all these bits were an accident or a joke.

Pine is a gothic thriller genre that starts out interesting and fizzles out in the end. The book doesn‘t feature the disappearance of one of its characters until we are almost 75% through. It feels like the author was having so much fun writing about witchcraft and cartomancy, that she forgot she had to deliver on the thriller/crime and had to solve the mystery. The end feels very rushed and the revelation of the criminal an afterthought

Anyone who has ever seen goldfinches fluttering and chattering and alighting on seedheads in meadows, or watched them bumbling through the thistledown they love, will know why the word charm was chosen for their collective noun. A charm of goldfinches soars at dusk, swoops at dawn, sings upliftingly in summer trees. In flight, the yellow stripe spreads into a golden cape.

[CT scans of The Goldfinch] ...show...the painting bears the traces of a blast, the minuscule indentations of hurtling matter, broken shards, hard pellets blown scattershot....
the explosion registered in a surface that did not split or shatter because it was not dry. The Goldfinch was still wet, still drying
.... when I stand in front of this painting it carries the last of his energy....
The painting lives. The creator survives.

Three women in three different times all dealing with harm caused by men from accusations of witchcraft, to marital abuse, to strangers lying in wait in the dark. Their stories are morose and without nuance.The writing was lovely but not enough to satisfy me. I have wanted to read this one for quite some time but am left underwhelmed.

While I‘m audio cleaning I gave Gary a tomato 🍅 🐌 One of my students wanted a snail from another science teacher and got tired of him after a couple hours. Their loss may gain! 🤩

Another #auldlangspine pick from @CBee

This was so unexpected and intense. I loved it and definitely see myself revisiting it in the future. A haunting story of an odd little family in post-WWII Scotland, and a bright and sensitive young girl who is deeply unconventional and frequently misunderstood. Richly drawn and evocative portrait of a unique time and place. The writing is spare yet poetic. 4.5⭐️

It only took 4 months but I finally finished this 928-page chunkster! I love the Outlander show & have been having withdrawals since the new season ended, so I‘ve really been enjoying reading this for an hour or 2 every night before bed the last couple of weeks. I love these characters & I‘m a sucker for time travel stories. If you like the show I‘d highly recommend the books! Or if you like the books but haven‘t watched the show yet, it‘s great!