Welcome to Litsy!

Received my signed copy + a MDR watercolor painting in the mail today!

Mary Doria Russell posted this yesterday. I ordered from MacsBacks online, and got my confirmation today signed Book, a watercolor painting from MDR, AND supporting a small bookstore. Winning all over the place!

https://www.macsbacks.com

This was my #bookspin book for May. Yay! So happy to have completed a #bookspin and #doublespin!
This was a compelling story and well-written and researched, but the history background felt forced not quite there at the same time. I picked this book to learn something about this era in history when the maps of the modern middle east were drawn, but I don't feel like I really did learn anything about the players or what was going on. ⬇

OK, so here is my monthly #weeklyforecast for May. Some of these I've read already and those have been excellent. Some I am still working on. Pushing hard against the library due dates these days. This includes my May #bookspin books!

@cinfhen

All right Wheel of Bookish Fate! May #Bookspin is on! I will definitely read both because #18 is a lovely picture book. 😊

Dreamers of the Day is about the creation of the modern day map of the middle east, a period in history I know almost nothing about. So I'm looking forward to that!

@TheAromaofBooks

This got picked up because of my interest in Gertrude Bell but also because the author wrote one of my favorite books from a few years ago on Doc Holiday. - In this book our MC finds herself at the crux of history. Crossing paths with Winston Churchill, Gertrude Bell, and T.E. Lawrence, this is set during the 1921 Cairo Peace Conference; a very real event that shaped the modern day Middle East and has impacted the world since. Highly recommended!

I'm hooked on tulips. A little bit of spring inside the house even though it was snowing today. #flowers #tiredofwinter

Good morning! It's my last lazy morning of spring break. Back to work tomorrow. #lazysunday

This is set during a time and location where I should be more familiar with. Most of this takes place post WWI, starting with the great influenza and then moving over to Egypt and the Middle East during the Cairo Peace Conference. The real historic figures who appear and how the Middle East was divided was interesting and especially relevant to today's world. Even a poor plot twist in the last chapter didn't mar my enjoyment.

Loved this read. WW1 and the influenza outbreak is fascinating to me, as is Egyptian culture and politics during the late 19th/early 29th century. Add in an engaging older female character full of growth and development, a feisty dog, and the effective use of historical characters, and I am totally in!

Love today's #readjanuary because this #signedbook has a lovely quirky picture of the author's dog. If I ever become famous I will sign my name with an image of Elliott! 🤓🐶🤓

A midwestern school teacher inherits some money and decides to take a trip to Egypt. She becomes a witness to the post WWI division of the Arab colonies by Churchill. Lawrence of Arabia becomes her friend. I liked the book but disliked the ending, the narrator at times was too omniscient. Enjoyed the book up to the final two chapters

Currently racing through because it's on loan from the library. Listening to the audio book of Tuchman's The Proud Tower concurrently and finding the two make good companions.

On the ferry today, traveling with Dreamers of the Day. @rebeccaschinsky was talking about The Sparrow on her All The Books Podcast but unfortunately I don't have a copy. Remembered I had another book by the same author so giving it a try

My first Mary Doria Russell is also her lowest rated on GoodReads. If this is her 'worst,' I'm excited for more Russell!