Welcome to Litsy!

I've usually preferred to have my books vertical but I'm experimenting with stacked and horizontal. Still on the fence about it

#BookReport 43/22

Just those two. Both had been waiting on my shelves for years so I am glad I finally read them thanks to the challenges. And, not unimportant, both were better than I expected.

I switched to print and I immediately enjoyed the book better. The setting is great (18th century NYC, a place with 7,000 inhabitants!) where a stranger from London suddenly sets foot ashore. There are lots of twists and a surprising ending. A light pick.

#52Books #RelatedToTheWorldGold

A clever book - written in an C18th voice following the life of Mr Smith - newly arrived in New York from London. It's comic & intriguing, full of atmospheric scenes of the emerging city and its underworld & snobbish, bribable elite. The reveal at the end turns the tone and the final few pages put the rest of the booking a totally different perspective. I felt at times I was missing the references and it was perhaps trying to hard to be clever.

New book day!

Spufford emulates the 18th century style with absolute mastery here. There's mystery, love, and theatrics in vividly drawn infant New York and you will be dragged along with a cracking plot and a rich cast of characters. This feels like timetravel as you are experiencing the time but with a modern morality.

Even more than a Pick this is getting 5 Stars on Goodreads! Delightfully engaging from the beginning, maddeningly elusive whiff of coy red herrings float past, depths of anguish seen and believed, finishing with pathos and wisdom and irony. Not even MENTIONING all the period detail, manners, chores, furniture, and geography that I gloried in as a fellow #histfic #writer!

#18thc #revolutionary #colonial #trickster #motive #mystery #charming #nyc

#top10ofthedecade. #fictionedition

Thanks for the tag @Centique ! I went through what I read published in the past decade and picked the first 10 to which I had/still have a strong emotional reaction!

Ok @Libby1 @jhod any of these you fancy for #lmpbc? I'll tag the others in comments. If you don't want any of these I've got plenty more to choose from!

Also cheating by using this for #glow #screamathonphotochallenge @4thhouseontheleft

Not without its flaws of course (and I‘m not sure it‘s “the best 18th century novel since the 18th century” as the cover claims) but an enjoyably different novel. The story centers on whether the central character is trustworthy despite refusing to disclose why he‘s come to New York with such a large sum of money. The great part is, even the reader isn‘t told what the secret is until the very end.

Bewildering.
Bedazzling.

1746 - An enigmatic character appears on the shores of colonial New York City presenting a bill for an impossible amount of money. Who is he really? And what on earth is he going to do with that money?

This book is the literary equivalent of a Tilt-A-Whirl carnival ride: sights and sounds and smells lunge past you, leaving you feeling exhilarated and maybe just a bit pleasantly ill.

Vivid and visceral. I loved it.

#jbuk
Thank you Jess 💕 a lovely surprise. I nearly brought this in a charity shop the other day- but it was just a bit too tatty so this is great!

Wonderful! The plot is surprising. The characters are refreshing. It's a fast read with many twists & turns. Not one major character ends up being what you expect them to be. Not one. The historical setting is organically shown rather than explained.
Spofford accomplishes - rather breezily - what most authors hope for: an entertaining and educational read that sparkles with near-invisible skill.

Critics are in consensus on this one: read it!

There‘s a gorgeous breeze today and this book keeps surprising me, I‘m going to need to read more by this author and I‘m so excited to be going to NYC next month 🗽

#summerbucketlist2018 ✅made it to the Penguin 🐧 Bookstore ( it‘s the size of a closet) and my bag is chock full of books and bookish paraphernalia 🧡🖤

Completely absorbed after chapter 1. The main character‘s landing in New York City reminds me of Ben Franklin‘s account of his landing in Philadelphia. The imagery, pacing, detail and language make you feel like you are there. I call this 4-corner writing.
Hoping that this continues at this super-high value level, I will be commenting as I go.

This book was as entertaining as I expected it to be—great writing, wonderful secondary characters, & a fantastic setting (NYC in the 1740s) more than sustain the story, even with its engaging & likable main character who somehow manages to leave you shaking your head & saying, “Come on! Really?!?” And that‘s the thing, I liked the story & the main character but was annoyed by him more than once. Still, a pick for fans of historical fiction.

We‘ve been running around all day but are taking a few minutes to unwind before dinner. Which is perfect because this book is a delight and so quotable. Really, it‘s only a slight exaggeration to say there is something on every page I would share if in doing so I wouldn‘t violate copyright laws or spoil the book for everyone else. I guess I‘ll have to settle for saying this is a very entertaining read...

“In what way does one get money, while giving no sign that the getting of it is any more than the merest indifference?”

Ha!

☕️ Coffee ☕️

Ohhh, I can already tell I‘m going to be entertained by this book.

I don‘t know about anyone else but the hardest part of packing for a trip is deciding which books to take along. In my daughter‘s case, she really has trouble & only narrowed it down to 9 for our road trip! I‘m taking fewer because if I run out, I can clearly borrow one of hers!!! I‘m starting with the tagged book. Spoon River Anthology is tangentially related to the trip (more about it later), & I hear great things about the other two.

I realized that one of the prominent characters in this book, Septimus Oakeshott,who is the secretary to the governor is a partner in an #unconventionalromance. Why do Richard Smith (the main character and friend of Septimus) and Septimus duel? Is it because of their dark secrets? #booked2018

Witty and entertaining! Thoroughly enjoyed this book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SPOILER ALERT: This book is great

In 1746, a young man arrives from London to “Old New York” with a note for a large sum of money, and a specific task to accomplish. As he awaits the payment of this note, a series of adventures occur causing him to fall in love, be imprisoned with the penalty of hanging if convicted, released, act in a play, fight a duel, and imprisoned again. The writing is true to the time period. A bit off putting to me. Twists and turns with a surprise ending.

“What my sister Flora wants to say,” says dark Tabitha,slipping into a mocking falsetto,”: ‘Do you do you, could you could you, might you might you, possibly have in your baggage any novels?‘For she consumes them like laudanum, and has read all that New York can afford, so must beg new supplies from every traveler.”
How fortunate we are today!

New Book Club read!

#TBRtemptation post 5! NYC in 1756 was a small town on the tip of an island. On a rainy November evening, one Mr. Smith comes off a boat and takes up lodging, and he raises suspicions by coming with an order for a thousand pounds--can he be trusted, why doesn't he says why he wants the money, does he work for someone. A fast-paced historical fiction tale with a twist in every chapter and a giant puzzle to solve. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎

Littens- the book I am savoring right now, Golden Hill, is on sale in ebook form for just $1.99 on multiple reading platforms. If you choice it for Kindle, remember to purchase it through your smile.amazon.com account so a % goes to a charity of your choice! If you like historical fiction, this should be an obvious choice.

All of my company left today including my oldest daughter. It‘s always hard putting her on a plane and sending her back to her regular life. While things are slowly returning to normal (my younger kids still have four more days off school! why??), I miss having my two oldest at home. Luckily, my library hold for this book came in today. Hoping to get some time to start it this evening and relax after many very busy weeks.

Second book of the year is another one that was hand sold to me at Daunt Books in London. For those who like historical fiction, this may be for you. The richness of the details, the language, the manners are all period by the pace and approach is very contemporary. I am counting the moments to when I can return to it with a modicum of quiet to savor it.

Making my way through my end of year to-be-Read pile with this book that I grabbed when I was in London over the summer. And having a delicious vegan apple walnut coffee cake at my local coffee shop. 👌🏻

This is a kind of pastiche of an 18th century novel, set in New York in 1746, the story of the mysterious Mr Smith who arrives in New York bearing a bill for one thousand pounds. Who exactly Mr Smith is and what is his business is only revealed at the very end, but on the way we are treated to a wonderfully vivid description of pre -Revolutionary New York. If you're a fan of this kind of historical fiction it's well worth checking out.

Today I shall be mostly...

This one relates to my last post. *happy dance* 🤓

In all likelihood, this is my favorite book of 2017. I read the last sentence in a NYC cab and exclaimed "damn!" It's an adventure, a comedy and an insightful look at what colonial #NewYork might've been like while a British colony with its heavy Dutch influence and ideas of liberty bubbling to the surface long before #1776. The writing is exquisite with long, beautiful sentences that demand one's full attention. And the ending! #GoldenHill

I loved this novel but that's not to say that I found it an easy read because I did not. It was, in fact, one of the most challenging novels I've read in a while. But I adored the writing - Spufford's use of language is enchanting, the way he plays with words breathtaking. A beautifully written book.

Swoon! Richard Smith is a wonderful book boyfriend. Golden Hill is a fantastic historical novel of pre-revolutionary New York City. Some of the most evocative and descriptive writing in recent memory. Great fun and a fast read.

New York in 1746 and a young man arrives from London with a promissory bill, he appears an innocent abroad but the opposing political forces suspect sinister intent. The historical aspects are interesting and it is a rattling good yarn but doesn't stand out in the genre for me, it'll probably be 3.5 * when i eventually review on gr. Pictured is my returning it to my library at lunchtime.

@DeborahSmall I decided to buy one notebook for now and wait until Christmas to see what I'm doing with it!

Written in the voice of an 18th Century novelist, this book took a minute for me to connect with. The last half of the book makes the entire journey worthwhile. Also worth reading if only to marvel at the author's skill with style and language.

I enjoyed this book as much as I enjoy describing it as a rollicking tale. Life got in the way this last week so my reading of this book was very fragmented, which is not the best way of doing it, I think. Still, it was a pleasure, and I loved the ending so much I read the last few pages over and over again.

Well I went back into Daunt's with my friend and spoke with Jack, one of the best booksellers! I asked him for recommendations of things that are special, unique and maybe would be overlooked in the States. Here was my haul.

Sorry Golden Hill, I don't think it's you, it's me. I just can't get over my last book relationship and we are just not right for each other at this time.
I am sure there are plenty of readers out there for you and I do like your cover ...
Alas, it is goodbye.

A #NewYorkMinute (or several) in 1746. This one intrigues me - I think I want to read it, but there's a very good chance I'll bail. #realistic

#rockinmay

Another reminder that I do want to see what all the fuss is about with this one!

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/may/08/francis-spufford-wins-the-ondaatje...