Welcome to Litsy!

An apocalyptic novel set in a fictional First Nations territory (though based on Indigenous stories that the author heard/knows). It‘s slow, but if you can settle in and feel the impact of the story, it is haunting. Although it‘s a very small part of the book, I enjoyed the bits about the title!

Audioworking on a Saturday. Better than working on a Saturday. (It‘s the little things, right)

This was a chilling beautiful thrill of a read. Reading this in the thick of winter only adds to the creepy vibe that builds. Not completely unpredictable, but a most satisfying read. Also happy to hear there is a sequel!

A native reservation experiences a collapse of the world they've come to know, leading to there being more of a need than ever for their community to band together. Until some visitors threaten to upend the tenuous hold on order they've achieved. I liked it a lot and always appreciate learning more about indigenous communities and their culture. I just wish that the climax had been a bit more fleshed out. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I flew to Raleigh for the weekend to hang out with my grandparents (this year I'm determined to squeeze in as much family time as I can!) and while my grandma is doing her Bible study, this is my current cozy reading spot 🔥

I‘m using the #ReadSpooky2022 challenge hosted by the lovely @teebe to work through my horror TBR on non-October months. For January I chose this book recently gifted to me in a swap by @MeganAnn . It‘s a great creepy read for winter. I loved the atmospheric tone. I did wish the author delved deeper into the characters and their relationships. I felt like a lot of it was very surface-level. But, I hear there‘s a sequel in the works!

This was one of the first books recommended to me on Litsy. Keeper‘n Me by Richard Wagamese was one of my favourite books last year, and I have been wanting to read more books by indigenous authors.

#currentlyreading #blameitonlitsy #Canada

I liked this but didn‘t love it. Life is beautiful and it doesn‘t stop. You can‘t eliminate it, though some try.

Literary thriller about a Native American reservation during the end of the world. I liked the concept of the book but it didn‘t feel fully developed at times and was a bit predictable. The story jumped around and the characters felt a bit underdeveloped, but it held my attention and I enjoyed reading about some of the culture on the reservation, based on the authors own life experiences.

Oh my goodness @MeganAnn you‘ve blown me away! The gifts are so perfect and thoughtful. The tagged book is right up my alley. The candle and bath salts smell lovely and I‘m SO excited for the spell kit! The ornaments are already up on my tree, I‘ll post pics. Thank you so so much! And thank you to the magnificent @Chrissyreadit and @sprainedbrain for hosting! Happy Yule! #WinterSolsticeSwap #WSS

Finished another one for #IndigAThon.

Both take place in an isolated environment while an unknown apocalypse rages on, explore the psychological effects of that situation, and have a slow, tense, suspenseful tone.

#Movie2BookRecs Oct 21 #LetterC day 27: Cloverfield @Klou

This post-apocalyptic #clifi by a Native author is in my tbr and I‘ve been eyeing it for a while. Should I move it up the list? Pic from a portion of the cover art.

#roaringwolf moon in the title
@Littlewolf1 @Roary47

This story shimmered with a subtle aura of menace that made even the most innocent actions seem ominous, culminating in a single act of stark horror, illuminated by the similarly barren surroundings. Especially poignant to read mid-pandemic, as a community experiences a disastrous emergency, and begins to crumble as it tries to weather the storm. Vivid characters and deft language build a truly unforgettable tale of survival.
#indigenousreads

I feel like the current heat is a great time to read about a dark and haunted winter…
#indigenousreads #spooky

This has been on my TBR for a while, so I was excited to see it as a suggestion for Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge for task #5: A Genre Novel by an FNMI Author. It was really good and I'm so glad I read it, although reading dystopic books during a pandemic is always a bit tricky.

I found a brand new once monthly podcast that will be focusing on indigenous books (I think North American and primarily Canadian, though I don‘t know), and Waubgeshig Rice is a co-host. He mentions in the inaugural episode that he is currently writing a sequel to the tagged book, hopefully for publication in 2022! 🥳🎉 I‘m super excited about the book and look forward to hearing more of this podcast.

Overindulging in chocolate and reading while my partner does the groceries 😌 best Valentine's day ever.

Happy ❤ day, romantic or otherwise!

There was such dread woven into this but the build up more subtle than I would have expected.

This is the kind of novel you use the word ‘haunting‘ to describe without it ever meaning something supernatural.

I love that the world is falling apart but you only see how it directly effects this Anishinaabe community instead of the world as a whole. The focus is a pinprick even though it‘s a wave of the residual aftermath happening elsewhere.

Tense and Disturbing at points, but beautifully written. Very atmospheric.

“Nicole lay awake in the warm, uneasy darkness”. I know this one has us mixed reviews but I am really enjoying it so far.

And a happy new year!
Probably won‘t get to finish it for 2020, but started this audiobook yesterday...very hyped but two chapters are not giving me joy...yet!
My fabulous book-listening-walking ensemble for Sacramento, USA winter.

A good post-apocalyptic novel that focuses more on the aftermath than on the actual apocalypse mechanism.
#ShutdownReadathon book 1

Just started this one this morning. Apocalypse reaches Canada‘s Anishinaabe community.

One gets a good insight into the modern way of life of the American Natives. I also enjoyed reading the words in their native language - si fascinating and strange to me.

Sadly, the story itself didn't drew me in at all. It lacked depth and atmosphere, even though the premises were given.

@TheAromaofBooks #BookSpinBingo

The slow build up in this slim novel is excellent. It creates so much tension and allows the characters to breath. First Nation history and politics is woven brilliantly through this sparse story of the apocalypse that leaves your imagination to fill in so many details. Loved it! @BookNAround thank you ♥️

I‘m only a few chapters in and boy it‘s tense! The background feeling of menace is so well done!

I‘ve been waiting for a suitably cold day to dive into this - today‘s the day 🥳

This was an excellent read. I liked it better than Leave the World Behind. I enjoyed learning about the culture and language. Highly recommend. One of the best reads for this year. 5 ⭐️ Read for 4 readathons and it is tbr book. 176 pts #teamreadnosedreindeer #wintergames2020 @StayCurious

Total 500

Books in green are this month's five star reads.

Books Read: 35

audiobook: 7
eBook: 18
print: 10

library: 9
review: 23
personal: 3

Around the World: 8
Book Clubs: 2
Booker Prize: 1
Graphic novel: 1
Indigenous: 3
Memoir: 5
Middle East: 3
Non-fiction November: 11
Poetry
Read the World: 3
Sci-fi/fantasy: 3
Tournament of Books: 6 (wow!)

Listened to this on #audiobook as my Thanksgiving Native #ownvoices read. Weirdly, I‘m finding apocalyptic novels to be enjoyable during the pandemic and the added layer of life in a Rez knocks this one out of the park.

It feels weird to say I enjoyed a novel about apocalypse and disaster, but I really did! I'd been circling this one for a while and didn't get to it in my year of focusing on Canada, so it got back burnered a bit. It tells the story of an Anishinaabe community (in what could also be northern Ontario), already pretty isolated, and what happens when the power goes out. ↘️

Overall, I did really enjoy this one, but the pacing didn‘t work for me in some sections. The late reveal was super powerful and fun.

Yes I‘m basically only reading post apocalyptic novels this year and no it‘s not making me extremely stressed out. I feel fine I swear. 😬

4.5⭐ - You guyyys! I really enjoyed this book! It's a short, compelling, haunting and powerful read that highlights Indigenous (Anishinaabe) culture while giving readers a tension-filled story. It's written by Indigenous author Waub Rice (from Ontario) and I couldn't put it down. Set in northen Ontario, it is a post-apocalyptic thriller that would be a great pick for group discussion.

My Review: https://bit.ly/MoonOfTheCrustedSnow

I hate to disparage any book . . . But aside from the unusual setting exploring the Ashininaabe culture, this book doesn‘t have anything else going for it 😬

What a thrilling, fascinating book! A kind of literary thriller / dystopian / horror novel with wonderful writing and authentic, human characters. It follows a post-apocalyptic Northern Anishinaabe reservation community. The focus is on their survival, leaning back into old ways of living off the land, and dealing with a white guy (what a villain!) who shows up wanting to join them. Quite suspenseful, and occasionally downright chilling!

Don't you love it when you start a new book and immediately fall right into the story?
#Indigenous #NativeReads #AwesomeAudiobooks

My Reading Wrap Up for August.

I had quite a few Favorites:
Moon of the Crusted Snow
Wow, No Thank You
Clap When You Land
The City We Became
The Dreamers
The Pull of the Stars

I bailed on Miracle Country.

I hope September is just as good!

I really liked this very short novel about an indigenous village in Canada dealing with the end of civilization as we know it.

I enjoyed Rice‘s writing style. Growing up in the North (Vermont- my husband always says I‘m “practically Canadian” 🤣), the prose felt like talking to my family that still lives up there.

He also really put me there in the chill of winter, snow piling up to the window sills, wind howling, thankful for the wood stove.

I picked this up on my first foray out into the world (an independent bookstore in Waco Texas) that wasn‘t for groceries or meds. The table was labeled “embracing the pandemic - why hide, escape into it” or something like that. Here we go . . .

I decided to look at the books I‘ve read this year- but I need to take time to look at the authors too. Out of 35 books 17% had lgbtq main characters, 14% had POC as main characters 8% was nonfiction. I am hopeful this awareness significantly increases my shelf diversity.

Congrats @squirrelbrain on 3 years and 100k ❤️🙌❤️
1. This has been a stellar year- Moon Over Crusted Snow is 1 of about 5 favorite reads this year- and this will be in my books I regularly recommend list.
2. One book I‘m very excited about it Shadows In Time by Julie Mcelwain, book 5 in the Kendra Donovan series. I have them on kindle but want them in real life so I can share them!
#nutsaboutbooks

Didn‘t really enjoy the execution of this book. It had a great concept but the writing was perfunctory and lacked the “show don‘t tell” quality of much better writers.

Thanks @ElizaMarie for the tag. I‘m going to list my favorite 3 of 2020:
1. Moon of The Crusted Snow
2. Bellevue: Three Centuries of Medicine and Mayhem at America‘s Most Storied Hospital
3. The Turn of Midnight
This has been a good year- there are at least 4 other books I loved.
@Butterfinger @megnews @sprainedbrain @cobwebmoth @tdrosebud @Gissy @Laughterhp @mabell @wanderinglynn @Mitch @Crazeedi @MicrobeMom @Blaire

3⭐️ Came into the book with somewhat high expectations, but I ended up being somewhat disappointed. I felt that it started out strong, but as the book wore on, it came across as being a bit flat and blah by the end. #2020 #bookstagram #bookreview #fiction #canadian #firstnation #ownvoices #dystopian

3/5⭐ I liked getting a new-to-me perspective of the strong Anishinaabe community life and culture, including the insight into how that culture has changed/been reclaimed over time in response to white oppression.

The trajectory seemed slow and ultimately fizzled into nothing. The writing overall seemed weak, although the strong portrayal of seclusion and the harsh winter gave the book a well-crafted horror vibe at times.