Welcome to Litsy!

Polished off another of the books I bought in Charlottesville. This was a bit uneven, but a good vacation read. I found the Maxwell chapters the most interesting and wished that Lee had written that book!

Very informative read! I knew so little about Harper Lee that I found the section on her biography really interesting. The sections on the subjects of the ‘true crime‘ book she was attempting to write were fairly engaging as well. I had no idea about her friendship with Truman Capote, so it‘s timely to run into that nugget while Feud: Capote vs the Swans is currently running on FX. If you ❤️Harper Lee and historical books, maybe give it a go

This book was all over the place. The author had lots of interesting ideas for a book but obviously not enough information for just one, so she just threw it all into this book. Much more content about Truman Capote & In Cold Blood & less about TKAM than I was expecting. And for such a slim book,this one felt long. #MoreMenThanYeah Bookclub discussion should still be good. #NonFictionChallenge23 #HarperValleyPTA 😜 @Riveted_Reader_Melissa

#UpNext #BookClub

Part true crime, part biography. Told in 3 parts, Cep tells the story of an alleged Alabama serial killer, the well-known lawyer who defended the man who shot said serial killer in front of 300 witnesses, and Harper Lee, who attempted to write about it all but eventually abandoned the project. Very interesting!

#bookspinbingo
#NovelNovember
#NonfictionNovember

#artfulaugust #truecrime

True crime meets author's biography.
I really enjoyed the true crime part, and Casey Cep's insights on the life of Harper Lee were quite interesting. The title is quite misleading though, luckily I didn't read this book with any expectations. In the end, Harper Lee's involvement in the Reverend's case is rather anecdotal.

#SavvySettings #Day1#Courtroom #TBR

I still need to take this off my TBR shelves!

This was an interesting read, BUT it didn't quite work for me. It seemed like three separate books that were only loosely connected, making the storytelling feel disjointed (and it felt much longer than it really was!). Also -- if you are looking for a book about Harper Lee, only part three really fits the bill.

#NonfictionNovember

I thought this NF book was written in such an interesting way with three parts practically independent of each other (the dead guy, the lawyer, the writer). Harper Lee‘s research into said dead guy, and the lawyer, and the book that never came to be makes for a great read. This author did a nice job pulling together the story Harper Lee couldn‘t write in the way she wanted it told. ↓

This book was so well put together, considering the circumstances. I worried it would be hit and miss, but it was laid out so well. I could not put it down!

I have the feeling Cep really wanted to write a biography of Harper Lee, but knew Lee would never approve. The first half is true crime and good in its own right. Then, it takes a left hand turn half way through and becomes a biography of Harper Lee. Since this book couldn‘t decide what it really wanted to be, it feels superficial in both the true crime and biography aspects. A good read but a light one, considering the engaging subject matter.

As nearly 600 people gather to remember & mourn the death of a teenager in a funeral home, Reverend Willie Maxwell is shot by a relative accusing him of murder & possibly more. This book was wild & although the Harper Lee connection was a bit tenuous & one of the least interesting aspects of the entire story, I loved this true crime book. Easily one of my favorites of the past few years.
#mourns #maycharacters @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Started this today in the car. Wow! This is a gripping story, I‘m already half way through.

Despite reading 60% of the book it‘s time to just call it. The crime was so-so and I‘m not really interested in the life of Harper Lee. It pains me a bit as I‘ve come so far, but I‘ve bumped the audio up to 3x and am barely paying attention, so what‘s the point?

So incredibly boring. It should be interesting. There's a black preacher and possible serial killer accused of using voodoo to kill his family members for insurance money. There's the man that shot him at the funeral in front of 300 witnesses. There's a trial led by a famous Alabama lawyer and there's Harper Lee trying to write about it all. And it's all so boring. Maybe if you're really into Lee, read this. Otherwise, I cannot recommend.

Next audio book started
More knitting to be done

#audiobook #knitting #harperlee #CaseyCep

I really liked this book both times I‘ve read it. However I specifically did audio this time because of this book‘s Audie Award nomination, and I didn‘t really think the audio added anything to the story. #LittenListen #CrushTheRush #BookSpinBingo #ItsColdOutside #ReadYourWay #WinterGames2020 #ReadNoseReindeer

A most enjoyable and well researched read, a bit strange. As it felt like two very separate books, first the crimes and murder of the Reverend Willie Maxwell and then the life of Harper Lee. The crime was fascinating, and new to me, and I was pleased to learn more of Harper Lee, her writing process, her frustrations and friendships. #NFN2020 #Book

Getting a bit of #NFN2020 reading in before the kids come home from school.

A good few days reading for the #NovelNovember Readathon with @Andrew65 from Saturday 14th - today (Tuesday 17th) I‘ve read for 19 hours and 48 minutes. Completed one book and made serious headway in to the others.

#PetsofLitsy 😂 It should be #PESTSofLitsy Pablo has decided that on my book is the perfect place to sit.

Not what I expected, but not bad. The first half details a suspected serial murderer, his murder, and a lot of insurance fraud. The second half is like a mini-biography of Harper Lee, including her stalled writing career, the impact of TKAM, and her work with Truman Capote. It definitely felt like two different books, but it was still fascinating and informative.

I admit, I've been a bit burnt out on live events online lately. I already spend enough time on Zoom for work, but I will definitely be attending this one. I already had plans to participate in #NonfictionNovember & honestly, what a great way to start the month!
https://www.magiccitybooks.com/event/virtual-event-casey-cep/

Part true-crime story that Harper Lee once considered turning into her second book; and part story of Lee's unsuccessful project. It's great material, both the lurid crimes and the author study. And Cep does pretty well with it, though there were a few digressions I'd have cut for flow. She writes well, and I'll watch for her next.

4⭐
I don't know what to say, other than, I would have loved to have known Ms. Lee

Casey Cep says Ms. Lee was "savage" with emotional needs. ?

Eyre is making reading a bit difficult. She insists on rubbing all over my book. This is not her usual behavior. #catsoflitsy #eyrethecalico

Casey Cep quoting a passage from author Zora Neale Hurston while discussing religion in the south.

Hazel decided to be my reading buddy. #HazeldaughterofHaze

Trying a different strategy for August's #bookspin #doublespin #bookspinbingo. Having fallen behind in July, I'm filling the August list with stuff that I would probably have tried to get to anyway: library books with maxed-out renewals, books for other challenges, etc. Hopefully I can finish a bunch of these before the Library Police come a-knocking. @TheAromaofBooks

This was a very interesting book split into three sections. The first section details the story of a serial killer who murdered family members in order to collect insurance money, the second section follows the life of his defense attorney and the last part delves into Harper Lee‘s attempt at writing about this case in a similar vein to Capote‘s In Cold Blood. It was a bit disjointed at times but overall a fascinating read.

Enjoying this so far, although for some reason my brain insists on reading it in a Southern accent

I don‘t know what to think of this book. It was more like 3 books in one. The best bits were the ones with Harper Lee and Truman Capote.

I finally got around to this book which was gifted to me in September (thank you @nelehelen !)

While I wish I had read it sooner I think right now I am in the perfect mind space for it.
Divided into sections it focuses first on the murder case(s) then the lawyer then Harper Lee. I found the first two sections the most interesting, but the Harper Lee section was eye opening.

RPL Book and Brews bookclub June 2020 read. First comes fraud, then comes suspected serial murder, then murder of the suspected murderer at a funeral of one of his alleged victims! All the while, a famous author is struggling to produce something that would compare to the success of her first book. Interesting read for sure for murderinos and fans of Harper Lee.
#rplbooksandbrews #truecrime #cannotmakethisstuffup

Casey Cep's Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee initially drew me in because of that last part: Harper Lee. I had recently re-read To Kill a Mockingbird for the first time since high school and was in love, all over again, with the beauty of her writing about childhood and about the humor that I had (quite frankly) forgotten. Parts of it are just REALLY funny. (Not all of it, of course--⬇️

#7booksin7days

The stress of this crazy world over the past couple weeks has led me to do a lot of rereading. Sometimes books are there to challenge us or make us laugh. Other times, they are there for comfort. 📚

This was well written and I found the subject matter really engaging, the only reason it‘s a so so and not a pick is that I found the structure quite odd - the whole first half was the murder, and the whole second half was a potted biography of harper lee and there wasn‘t much to link them until right at the end so it felt quite disjointed, I feel like I‘ve read two quite good books with almost no overlap, but I did enjoy it.

Nonfiction at its very best. The book bounces from the murder of an alleged killer to the childhood of Capote & Harper Lee. It remains fascinating throughout, especially for those of us interested in Lee‘s life. The author‘s research provides an in-depth look at Lee‘s life & the murder cases, but it never overwhelms the narrative. She uncovers the details of the book Lee attempted to write & presents them with respect and context. (NY Times image)

This book was a slow read. I really enjoyed a lot of it but personally found that there was quite abit of unnecessary info that could have been slimmed down.. The parts I enjoyed, I really got into, but it seemed to only last a couple pages before it was dragging again.. I did learn quite a bit about Harper Lee 💕 I would probably rate it 3⭐⭐⭐

Thank you @MallenNC for the #newyearwhodis pick 😊 @monalyisha

Just finished listening about this on a podcast so decided to grab it off my tbr pile it has me intrigued!

The trials in this book are both literal and figurative. There are courtroom trials and the emotional trials of Harper Lee as she worked to follow up her debut, To Kill a Mockingbird, with a true crime book. As we all know, that book was never published, and this book attempts to find out why. #Trial #ReallyRandomFebruary

Finally finished! Have been so so busy this week but I‘m glad I picked this one up to read alongside the kids as they read TKAM. Had no idea just how autobiographical it was.

Also, I really wish I could have read “The Reverend”

#nowreading #speakingtruth

While interesting, the book is all over the place- voodoo, Truman capote, history of life insurance, Harper Lee‘s hatred towards the IRS...

Anyone else feel this way?