Welcome to Litsy!

How to describe this? Ultimately, I kind of loved it, but with reservations. I felt like there were too many storylines, and some of those weren‘t fleshed out enough. It feels like she tried to pack SO MUCH into the book but left out some important parts. That being said, I LOVE her writing and I love her characters. What does it say about me that some of Vera‘s “madness” made sense? 😂🤷‍♀️

I‘m going backwards in Thorpe‘s writing and this is the third book I‘ve read of hers. While I‘ve quoted this book several times I have to say this book felt a little too ambitious. A trip to Lithuania in honor of his grandmother who escaped from a concentration camp with a teen who has experienced a psychotic break, the story covers a lot of ground and feels a bit too much. I was captivated while reading it but ultimately disappointed.

The author put this quote both in her novel and in her acknowledgments. It hit me hard each time I read it. A great description of my current understanding of the world.

“No one seemed amazed that in Lithuania, in order to deal with the end of communism, local artists had made a statue of Frank Zappa.… And now Frank Zappa has become sort of a patron saint, if you will, of Uzupis, but also of Vilnius and even Lithuania as a whole.”

Who knew?

I LOVED Margo‘s Got Money Trouble and was happy to see this one on my shelf by the same author!!

#Newtoyouauthor
#Aboutabook

💗📚💗

Road Trip
On way to KCMO for St Patrick‘s Day party ☘️

Not my favorite Rufi Thorpe book. Of course the writing was good because Rufi Thorpe (hello), but something about this book didn‘t grab me. I skimmed parts, yet other parts were so well done it was like moments of brilliance. I can‘t explain, but I‘m definitely ready to move on.

Why‘s he judging me?

Rufi Thorpe writes the kinds of books I love to read. In this one, Vera and her father travel to Lithuania and discover much about each other and themselves. Musings on what it means to be a person in the world, genocide, rape, ancestry, mental illness and so much more abound and somehow it all works out for a quirky yet touching read.

Dear Spring, I love you 💕

It was So- So but read it

📖 + ☕️ = 💗

Soccer for my 8 year old ⚽️
Book for me 📖
And this evening is GORGEOUS 🌞

Just realized I forgot to post my spring #booked2021 reads. 🤦🏼‍♀️

Librarian Tales #libraryorlibrarianintitle

Dear Fang #setincountrywhereUNpeacekeepersare

We‘ve Got Answers #antiracism

Piranesi #musicalinstrumentoncover

Skylark #translatedtoyourfirstlanguage

Chase Darkness With Me #hearhere

A good book, a fragrant bath bomb, and a 🥔 mask. Because why not. 😂 #bathandbook

When Vera is diagnosed with Bipolar I her father takes her on a trip to Vilnius, #Lithuania. He hopes to help her dealing with this diagnosis and to learn a bit more about his own ancestors. A lot happens to both of them. I enjoyed the growing intimacy between them and the city‘s history but the book as a whole felt a bit too shattered. Thorpe wanted to tell too much.

#ReadingEurope2020 🇱🇹 #ReadYourSign: Passionate, independent character ♏️

I guess that means I must check out Milosz!

Books like this one are why I love reading challenges. I only picked it up because it is set in #Lithuania and I needed that one for #ReadingEurope2020, but I ended up really liking it. It explores heavy topics like accepting a diagnosis of mental illness and how heavy family history can weigh, but is told with great heart and humor.

Many thanks to @Megabooks for putting this one on my radar!

This book interests me for the armchair travel to Vilnius, Lithuania & also because it shows the perils of traveling with mental illness.

Lucas & his daughter Vera travel to Vilnius after Vera has a tough school year due to a bipolar diagnosis. Lucas also wants to find family left after the Holocaust.

The book is told between Vera‘s increasingly unstable emails to her boyfriend Fang, & Lucas‘s first person narration as part of the travel group.

#bookmail - in case you haven‘t noticed, I have a huge book buying “problem”

#TMNT

One of my all time favorite things to do—get up before everyone else, drink coffee and read a book by the Christmas 🎄 tree with My dog Gomez. #dogsoflitsy

I abandoned this two years ago. (Boy does time fly!) It‘s about time I got back to it and get it off my bedside table so there‘s room on it when I (hopefully) get books for Christmas. 😉

I‘ve had this on my TBR for far too long.

Vera is the product of whirlwind relationship between her young parents. She has grown up only seeing her father on weekends, but after she suffers a psychotic break in high school, her dad becomes someone to #leanon.

This is the story of the time they spend in Lithuania during the summer after Vera‘s psychotic break. I read this author‘s first book and gave it five stars. #septemberdanes

🌟🌟🌟🌟
#audiobook
#overdrive

#audiowalk
#800in2018
#84ForFebruary
#overdrive

It was a beautiful, cloudy day for a walk. 😁
#audiowalk
#800in2018
#84ForFebruary
#overdrive

#audiowalk
#800in2018
#84ForFebruary
#overdrive

#audiowalk
#800in2018
#84ForFebruary
#overdrive

#audiobook
#overdrive

Currently reading and loving #DearFangWithLove. It‘s making me want to jet off to Lithuania and soak in the history...

This one is technically a cheat, but it‘s a fun cheat regardless. #fangsoutfriday #hallowreads

Some used bookstore finds. The photo didn't come out quite right🤷🏻‍♀️.

#tbr #libraryhaul #whatshouldireadnext

This book surprised me in a really good way. I don't know what I was expecting exactly, but it was fabulous. It was about fathers and family ties and history and mental illness and Lithuania. It was so engrossing, at times laugh-out-loud funny and occasionally quite sad. I was interested in EVERY character as well as how they interacted with each other. I loved it. 5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #recommendsday

As I was trying to organize my thoughts into a review of this book; I came across this interview from the Magic and Musings blog with the author, Rufi Thorpe. This portion in particular really speaks to the parts of the book that I found most engaging and thought-provoking.
The relationship between the mostly-absent father and his newly diagnosed 17 year old daughter is also wrapped in secrets and mystery - makes for a good read.

Just getting into this audiobook today. I chose it on a whim and am already engaged. #hoopla #audiobooks

Day 17 of the #RiotGrams challenge: get crafty! I am not crafty in the least, but I do have this gorgeous place marker that the awesome Rufi Thorpe made to go with her awesome book. 💕

I thought I'd have more time to read today but moving a kid out of college has a way of sucking the hours away at warp speed. Now I'm recovering on the couch with Gatsby and my book.

The phrase, "Don't judge a book by its cover" is a saying because we do judge based on aesthetics, attractive presentation and what catches our eye. Which is a shame in this case, because this cover is a total dud in my opinion, and the book so far seems pretty good. I'm thinking the cover doesn't do it justice, at all.

Oh my goodness what a haul (and finally a second book with love in the title #lovetitles)! I have been wanting to read these and hadn't gotten them yet so I'm on cloud 9. Thank you my dear valentine, Karin!!! And thank you Gloria for making Valentines Day so much fun!!!

#day14 #feistyfeb #lovetitles ...seeing as it's Tuesday... thought I'd do a #TBRTuesday with 'Love' in title..... been meaning to get to all of these....

Just a few favorite reads of 2016! Happy New Year, everyone!

Turns out I've barely read any books set in Eastern Europe. I did however listening to this very touching book earlier this year- When 17 year-old Vera has a breakdown one day at school, her estranged dad takes her to Lithuania, hoping the trip will ease their relationship and her mental health. The nuances of the connections in the book are spectacular, and it all comes beautifully together.

Got any recs for me?#photoadaynov16 #EasternEurope

I was initially attracted to the cover, but the book itself is an engaging and layered story about knowing ourselves and others, family relationships, family history (writ large and small), and coming to terms with mental illness. My one quibble is with the character of Fang who functions more as a device than a developed person. (Or maybe that's the point?) Either way, I enjoyed the book and the writer's style.

4 stars. This book was not what I expected--in the best way possible. Its many layers discuss family mythology and history and their effects on identity, the Holocaust, mental illness, absentee fatherhood, mothers. (I could go on.) And it does so in a completely absorbing and engaging manner.

This is my book club's next pick (because I suggested it), and it's so quietly good. Thorpe really captures that world shift experience that a mental illness and its diagnosis can bring about in a family. #bookclub

Here's a fulfilling read with an excellent cast of characters - each brought something unique to the story. It tackles several relevant themes like mental illness in contemporary context, dealing with the past and searching for lost family long after a catastrophe has come and gone. I think best part was Thorpe's brilliant foray into mental illness and the father-daughter dynamic. A sharp eye opening read. Full review on IG #sammybookreview

This little beauty paired wonderfully with lots and lots of book talk! #dirtywatermelon #booklovers #booksandbooze

Rufi Thorpe is masterful and if I were a writer, I would want to write books like hers. This one is brimming with all. the. things.

She writes: "I am fascinated by the way our understanding of things changes over time, including our understanding of people. By the time we're adults, our whole notion of the world has changed from when we were teenagers. There's this constant shifting of perspective."

Go into this one cold. You'll be surprised.