Welcome to Litsy!

2-6 June 25 (audiobook)
Such a fantastic book. Set in 1660s, shortly after Charles II is restored to the throne, the events surrounding the hanging of a young woman are told by four different characters. Fascinating story of unreliable narrators, scientific advancement, theology and politics.
Recommended by The Rest is History hosts as one of the greatest historical novels, which I fully support. An absolute masterpiece. Need a hard copy.

#JubilantJuly Readathon

I'll be participating in this.

🖋 Finish the tagged for #Bookedintime @Cuilin
🖋 Select a few Rebecca Solnit books for #Backlistreadathon @Clwojick @TheAromaofBooks
🖋 Continue with The incredible unlikeliness of being for #NaturaLitsy #buddyread

@Andrew65

#Bookedintime
July prompt - 17th century

I can't decide, so I'm listing the ones that made the final cut 😅 I'll see what happens in July @Cuilin
The King's Witch trilogy is on my #Serieslove list, so it would be get to get this series started. I do enjoy Tracy Borman's writing, although I've only read her history books. It will be interesting to compare with her novels.

Four narrators tell the story of the death by poisoning of a Fellow of New College, Oxford, in 1663 and the execution which followed.

I have read this before but I had forgotten how good it is. The mixture of natural philosophy (science), politics, and religion is just as fascinating as the actual mystery. The book shows up how rooted in the attitudes of our own day most other historical detective fiction is.

A fine thing indeed.

Marco da Cola, gentleman of Venice, respectfully presents his greetings.

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

The shame!

The historical mystery I'm currently reading is set in the 1660s and involves early experiments with blood transfusions. Many of the characters are real people, and the above illustration comes from a book, “Tractatus De Corde“ (Treatise on the Heart), written by one of them, Dr. Richard Lower.

#lunchandabook

He is now long since dead; I pray for his soul, and hope the good Lord disregards my entreaties on his behalf, knowing as I do that the longer he suffers fiery torment, the more just his punishment will be.

Historical mystery set just after the Restoration and told by four narrators, each of whom contradicts the version of the others. Possibly a tad overlong at 700 pages but enough going on to keep me hooked.

#fall #booked2022 @Cinfhen @4thhouseontheleft @BarbaraTheBibliophage

This is my #bookspin this month. I‘m 400 pages in, over halfway, but I‘ve decided I‘m bailing. I tried so hard to be invested in this book about a murder. But after two of the four narratives, I realized that I feel like I already know what happens (unless there are more twists coming). Plus there is a huge focus on the political issues of the day (King Charles v Cromwell) and I just don‘t care enough to read 300 more pages of it.

#bookreport.

Finished the top row. All were fantastic except Killer in the Family.

My output has slowed down substantially now that I‘m reading a #chunkster (An Instance of the Fingerpost). We‘re going out of town for the night so maybe I‘ll make some headway this weekend but likely not. 😅

My afternoon read (now my evening read😂)

We decided to have a relaxing afternoon with our books. ☺️ This had to be documented because my kids never lay with me and read independently with me just for fun.

This is my #bookspin for January, so I attempted it first thing this month. In my covid haze though I just couldn‘t do it, so I put it aside. Now I‘m going in. Hopefully this time goes better. 🤞🏻

I haven‘t forgotten about #bookspinbingo. Covid is still kicking my ass. I feel nauseated when I think about reading. 😭😭 I can feel myself getting a little better though, so hopefully life can get back to normal soon.

A murder mystery at Oxford in the 1660s, told from multiple points of view. “If you like Rashomon, you‘ll love this!” I am a fan of Pears style, obviously. I need to reread this!

Current read

Ruth, often known as Ruthiella, returns to the podcast to talk about several long books she has read and enjoyed lately. Jenny joins in with surprising selections. We talk about the pull of book lists for our own reading, and books we need to give a second chance.

https://tinyurl.com/ReadingEnvy134

My birthday read for the #LIBERTHDAY giveaway. One of my favorite books which I got several years ago. A historical thriller that has really stuck with me!

💜💜💜 #BookMail #HeywoodHill #AYearInBooks

#unreliablenarrators This door stopper of a book, set in England in the 1660s, looks at a series of events from 4 different perspectives. Who's telling the real story? The reader is left to their own devices in making that decision. I think that, just like real life, there was probably some truth and falsehood in each. #maybookflowers

#doorstops #riotgrams Callie is deciding by smell which to read or sit on. I've others but most of the big tomes are digital - less weight #catsoflitsy #littenkittens

To prep for a class I will be taking at Oxford later this year, I'm rereading this. I first read it when it came out in 1997 & I didn't like it. I suspect the pace wasn't fast enough for me & the multiple narrators disarmed me. I was surprised to see it in the syllabus. But this year's Read Harder challenge has a task to do a reread. I decided to kick it off with audio format to see if that would help me connect with the story in a better manner.

#bookwithinabook #Readjanuary Have written a review of this book before, but it is in many ways a favorite and the action is driven by the manuscript which is written by one of the protagonists and which forms the first of four stories in the novel. The other three stories are responses to this manuscript each written as rebuttal to what proceeded it.

Something tells me this is going to be tough to get into. I think once I get past the 100 page mark I will know if I can stick with this or not.

It might be Slightly battered looking...but I am ready to dive into this one. #usedbooks #currentlyreading

A Rashomon styled murder mystery set in restoration England. A manuscript written many years after the event by a Venetian merchant who was visiting England at the time of the murder. In turn this account prompts three other people to document their experiences, each who tells a very different story