Welcome to Litsy!

1. I generally prefer more recent historical fiction.
2. However, I really liked the tagged book.
#two4tuesday

#kindledeals #kindledeal #ebooksale

Historical fiction about the life of Old Testament's King David. I usually enjoy books by Geraldine Brooks. I had to force myself to finish this one. 2 stars

Geraldine Brooks is also on In Depth on C-SPAN2 this weekend talking about the writing of her books.

Geraldine Brooks writes incredibly powerful and moving historical characters, whether or not they're based on real people. The Secret Chord is one of my favorites by her. In the novel she makes ancient times and people feel relevant and alive. One of her favorite historical fiction novels is The Persian Boy by Mary Renault.

#agameoffavorites @ErinSueG @WhiskeyMistress

Finally starting this book from my bishop's library. It is a little hard to follow and pretty gross, but it is teaching me about a place and time and culture that I did not know.

This quote from the prologue gets the essence of this book in a nutshell. I didn‘t love everything about Brooks‘ portrayal of King David, but I was impressed by it. It‘s beautifully written, brutally in tune with the biblical stories it‘s based on, and it left me feeling really thoughtful about how this deeply flawed man was still considered a man after God‘s own heart.

Someday I‘m going to finish this book. I like it, but I have too easy of a time putting it down and getting distracted by other diversions lately. 😕

I‘ve been struggling with this one, and I‘m not sure if it‘s the book or my weird mood right now. Regardless, I still think Brooks writes beautifully.

I‘ve heard that there‘s a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord...

This song used to annoy me thanks to overplaying, but this Pentatonix version strikes just the right chord, so to speak. I‘ve also played it on handbells, because our director liked it so much he arranged it for us. We‘re not on YouTube, so here‘s Pentatonix.
https://youtu.be/LRP8d7hhpoQ

The book is good too!
#decdays #hallelujah

I took my Grandma to Wilmington yesterday, and we inevitably ended up at a bookstore☺️ I was good and only bought these two books, plus something for my #SecretSantaGoesPostal match. #bookhaul

#TBRtemptation post 1! The story of Israel's King David is brought to life: from obscurity to fame, shepherd to soldier, hero to traitor, king to despot, and his diminished dotage. This story, attempting to peel away the myths, looks at David with fresh understandings. You'll see him through others' eyes, including Nathan's, his wives', and Solomon's. #blameLitsy #blameMrBook 😎

According to GoodReads I read 17 books with secret in the title 🙄 I sort of remember these nine😆 #ShhSecrets @Jess7

The Friends of the Library sale was great! Stacked all these beauties... now to pick which to start!

#junetunz #hallelujah
"The baffled king composing hallelujah"
I really enjoyed this fictionalised account of king David, who of course is that aforementioned baffled king☺

🎶🎵🎶 Look at the stars / Look how they shine for you / And everything you do / Yeah they were all yellow 🎶🎵🎶 #yellowcovers #day2 #riotgrams

Ms. Brooks uses one biblical mention of the lost Book of Nathan to create her narrator. She adds dimensions to the lives of people most overlooked by history and myth; women. David's mother and wives are fleshed out here in a way that religious stories would never allow. David is no longer a mystically perfect being. He is flawed, often violent, sometimes careless man. I always look forward to a new (or new to me) book by a favorite author.

Just got my new library card in my new town, and picked up an audiobook for my commute!

Slowly digging into in this book - Monday's are my Sunday and I am having the laziest day ever....

So I'm not especially interested in reading this book, but I've enjoyed two of her other works. At a book signing on a Friday night, I really know how to live it up haha.

First reason for not liking it: I did not care two shrimps about the character David - both the historical figure and how he is portrayed as a character in the book.

Second reason for not liking it: the premise of the story is not met (to what I was expecting). The story starts by David ordering his prophet Natan to write down stories about himself, both good and bad.

If you ever have the chance to hear Geraldine Brooks speak, make sure you do it. She is amazing - funny, beautifully spoken, terrific off the cuff, smart. #authorlove

I enjoyed this novel about the life and times of King David, as told by his counsellor Natan. This is the mezuzah outside the Jewish worship space at the US Air Force Academy chapel. It's one of my favorite #shadesofblue (Who am I kidding - they're all my favorite shades!) #septphotochallenge

I really loved a couple of her other books but this one didn't grab me. I don't think it's the fault of the story either - it was well told. I just think I'm a bit over stories - no matter how historically accurate - where women are treated like property. And I struggled to find a character I really connected with so it lacked some of the impact that #peopleofthebook and #yearofwonders had for me. But it was an interesting story overall.

I love a good retelling of a popular story; to get in close and speculate on what was really going on. Brooks does take realism kind of seriously & there were a few battle scenes that made me queasy.

Got a new task at work where I feel like I can safely listen to audiobooks without harming my concentration. I went and heard GB talk about this book last fall and am glad to finally read it.

Never buy a book because the title comes from a Leonard Cohen song. The story of King David gets told, but it's just pretty straightforward. Brooks doesn't "do" enough -- it's no "The Red Tent." Good if you've never read or thought about the Bible story, but otherwise largely unnecessary.