Welcome to Litsy!

I feel bad bailing on such a historically important novel. But I don‘t like the way it is written, and I already know about the horrors of the white American enslavement of Black people. I‘m perfectly happy to read about horrible things happening to compelling characters, but Vyry doesn‘t hold my interest. #doublespin

4 years! Wooo hoo! 🎉 🥳

The Big Jubillee Read was announced today - 70 books, 10 for each decade of the Queen‘s reign, from around the commonwealth. It looks like a great list. I‘ve read 12 but have picked out some others that I‘ve been meaning to read. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2Ynpj933DJ2YG5nsMS6fn8k/a-literary-cel...

Jubilee - Wicked - Night - Becoming are all ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ favorites of mine and all have one word titles.

One word titles are rare but not better necessarily. It‘s hard to distill a whole book‘s ideas and themes to a single word.

#Two4Tuesday

@HappyLitsyversary reminded me two days ago (and l've only seen it today, just to show in what mess l'm now 😝) that l've been on Litsy for five years

FIVE YEARS!

I've no idea how it can be five years, but l'm so happy l'm still here (if admittingly sporadically of late), reading with the best book friends l've ever met 😘

Thank you @staci.reads for all the lovely goodies! That candle smells divine! I‘m super excited about the books! When we get home I‘m going to find spots for the candles & tree, they are going to make things feel a little cozier. ☺️ Thanks for hosting @sprainedbrain & @Chrissyreadit !!

On the second day of Christmas, I‘m picking Jubilee for my #12BooksOf2020.

Based on the real life of the author‘s great-grandmother, this is a story from the perspective of slaves in the antebellum south, through the Civil War, and in to Restoration. Sort of like Gone with the Wind, without the sickening racism attempting to romanticize slavery. 😬

It‘s a brilliant book!

Margaret Walker is the great-granddaughter of the main character, Vyry, and weaves her family‘s oral history with over 30 years of research for a powerful, beautiful, haunting, unforgettable book. Starting with the death of young Vyry‘s mother, the story follows her life as the “milk-white skin” daughter of the plantation owner through slavery, emancipation, and survival as a free woman. You should absolutely read this book.

I wish I could double or triple “like” this book. It‘s historical fiction that deserves to be studied and spoken about so much more. This was Walker‘s doctoral dissertation, so it‘s grounded in history. But the heart and soul are the MC, Vyry. I could have kept reading about her for days. Recommend if you want the *truth* about Reconstruction.

Full review http://www.TheBibliophage.com #thebibliophage2020
#blacklivesmatter #readblackauthors

I‘ve read 98 books so far this year.

24 of those books by POC authors (24%):

14 by Black authors (14%)
10 by NBPOC (10%)
0 by Indigenous authors

13 by LGBTQIA+ authors (13%)

Lots of room for improvement.

I‘m having a hard time choosing a favorite of the year so far, so I will go with two: Normal People by Sally Rooney or Jubilee by Margaret Walker (tagged). Neither new, both incredible for different reasons.

#IntegrateYourShelf

After Dread Nation, I‘m going back to the time period of slaves, overseers, and plantations. This time, no zombies. Unless you count all the clueless white characters. The introduction by Nikki Giovanni is amazing.

#blacklivesmatter

Current status: hugely pregnant and not planning to move for a while. (Note: photo does not accurately portray sheer mass of baby bump. 🥴)

I tried, but can‘t stick to only 1 for each this week. 🤷🏻‍♀️

📚 Jubilee by Walker & Jane Eyre by Bronte
🖊 N.K. Jemison & Shirley Jackson
🎥 John Wick 📺 Jeopardy
🎤 Jack White & Johnny Flynn
🎶 Joan by Butch Walker & Juice by Lizzo

#ManicMonday

February wrap-up:

16 books finished (5 print, 11 audio):

-11 books for my various reading challenges
-3 classics
-1 nonfiction
-9 Mt TBR
-5 BOTM backlist

Only 2 #1001books and only 3 galleys...

But!
I read 9 books by Black authors for #BlackHistoryMonth and 12 of my books were written by women.

Some of my favorites are pictured. The top 3 were my 5-star reads in February.

Jubilee was my very favorite. ❤️

What I'm reading now. This book is quite intense. Reading it for an Instagram chat this Friday.

Excessively long because of information that could have been eliminated. Good story nonetheless.

New favorite book read in 2020 (so far). 🌟

Beautiful, powerful, and detailed. Margaret Walker‘s semi-biographical saga of the life of Vyry, child of a plantation owner and one of his slaves, from slavery, through the Civil War, and into Reconstruction. Sort of like Gone with the Wind, but without the cringeyness and about 500% better. I highly recommend the audio read by Robin Miles.

My USA book for #ReadAroundTheWorld.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is freaking awesome. I can't believe I never heard of it until recently. #LitsyAtoZ #J

Thank goodness my mom found this audiobook and recommended it because it is SO GOOD! The story of a young woman born into slavery in Georgia who survived the Civil War and Reconstruction. Walker did a ton of research for this book and it is so well written! I also recommend the audiobook because the narrator does a phenomenal job.

$2.99 #Kindle special on #Amazon !!!#Goodreadsdeals

“Jubilee tells the true story of Vyry, the child of a white plantation owner and his black mistress. Vyry bears witness to the South‘s antebellum opulence and to its brutality, its wartime ruin, and the promises of Reconstruction.”

I had never heard of this book before today‘s email from Goodreads. It sounds very read-worthy. For $2.99 I could not pass this one up! #jubilee #goodreads

Today's Audible daily deal was way too good to pass up. $4.95!

A few #startswithJ books on my TBR

#anditsaugust @RealLifeReading

I'm about 60 pages in and already I have slapped a few of the characters. This lets me know this will be a book I cannot put down. I love it when an author sucks me into a story and makes me feel as if I'm one of the characters.

My mom recommended this book to me after finding the 50th anniversary edition on the new books shelf at the library.

Finished!

This book sat on my shelf for years and I always passed it by. Finally read it and so glad I did! Hungry for more Margaret Walker.

Oh, Freedom, Oh, Freedom
Oh, Freedom over me,
And before I'll be a slave
I'll be buried in my grave
And go home to my Lawd and be free.