Welcome to Litsy!

This book, this epic, tragic, lovely book. How do I begin? As it wrestled with philosophic questions of what life is worth, it maintained a steady quiet tension. I was utterly transfixed. Layers of meaning and history made personal. Gah, I can‘t even describe how good.

To help keep me on track and since I get to read at work, I have developed a system of counting out the number of pages in each chapter and pairing it with a “task” I can do at work.

I‘m not sure how I feel about this book. A little over 100 pages in and I‘m still waiting for the actual plot of the book to start. I haven‘t connected to any of the characters yet either. Sigh

#30daychallenge #day5 Still have a cold, still depress-y, but reading

It took me a while to get into the book. By chapter 12, it got interesting and then by chapter 20 it just went back to boring. I ended up not finishing the book because I felt like I was dragging my feet trying to finish it.
I thought the context of the story and the setting was good, but the writing itself wasn‘t very good.
I‘ll have to say out of all the books I‘ve read this year, this is the worst one 😔 I‘ll give it 2 stars ⭐️⭐️

I don‘t even have words. This book just reached in and grabbed something in me and won‘t let go. I‘m reminded of what drew me to culture studies in college, of the different ways we all negotiate the world, the pieces we give up, or hide, to make getting by easier. I‘m reminded of my grandfather, for some reason, who was a contemporary of Varian Fry, a scholar of Latin and English. Cont‘d in comments.

6+ hours left, and I already want to go back to the beginning and listen again. The surrealists feel like family, and I‘m continually worried that Varian‘s delicate house of cards is going to crash. And I so love Varian and Grant, especially Grant‘s thoughts on hiding your truth.

“Oh, it goes something like this: Who‘s most important, the farmer who feeds the cow, the cow who makes the milk, or the girl who milks the cow? None of them. The most important is the boy who carries milk to the market. One wrong step, and the work of all the others is lost in an instant.”

Yes, my cup is indeed true 😂 one of my favorite gifts from a good friend #reading #books #outdoors #fun #sailor #idontevenownaboat

Audiobook knitting. The narrator is excellent, and the story is compelling, which is great because I have 13 days to knit this blanket before Baby M‘s moms have their baby shower. Unfortunately, the audiobook is only 19 hours long!

Enjoying the nice weather! #outdoors #books #reading #summer #shade

I might give up on this book soon. It‘s not grasping my attention nor am I intrigued.
Hopefully a few more chapters it‘ll be a bit better. So far it‘s not 🤷‍♀️#slowread #nobuildup #toomanylanguages

Spending the rest of my day reading in my comfy chair #lazyday #cleaningisdone #books #reading

Who knew I would be reading this book and learning French at the same time 💁‍♀️(also, this is Nala, my parent in laws pup) #reading #french #botm #love #learning #snuggles #readingbuddy

Who knew I would be reading this book and learning French at the same time 💁‍♀️(also, this is Nala, my parent in laws pup) #reading #french #botm #love #learning #snuggles #readingbuddy

“Vivamus, moriendum est.”
(Let us live, since we must die)

Started this gem today. Already enjoying it ❤️ #france #nazi #artist #julieorringer #energy

I really tried to get through to this one. I love hist fic set in WWII. But I couldn't with this one. It was a great storyline and lots of detailed characters (that existed in real life) but the pace was immensely slow. Not to mention Varian just was a mooncalf when Grant was around. It's okay to be in love but you got people to save Varian..for crying out loud. This one wasn't for me.

The time to do what‘s right is always now. Always. And in Flight Portfolio, we also see the many people - US State Department officials certainly among them - who make the opposite choice. Let‘s not be those people. Vale, Varian Fry, and Julie Orringer for writing a thinly fictionalized account of his time at the beginning of the war.

Just starting this one, hope it‘s good. #WWII

Don‘t let the length scare you! After 50 or so pages to get into the characters, I found this to be such a smooth and compelling read. A beautiful fictionalized take on real people. Complex morality, with (seldom told) story emphasis on the LGBTQ experience during the WWII era. Totally recommend.

I was so excited for this book and learning more about the daring risks and harrowing decisions made by Varian Fry in WWII France. What I got instead was a love story.
The audiobook couldn't hold my attention and neither could the book so I finally bailed at about 40%. I wanted to love this but it just wasn't what I expected.

A literary historical fiction based on writer and journalist Varian Fry and his liberation of dozens of avante garde artists from France during World War 2. The book is atmospheric in detailing the time and the immersion of bohemian folly. Really good.

I struggle with audiobooks, I either relax too much and fall asleep or if I try another task while listening my mind wanders and I lose track 🙈
That said, I'm giving this a try because it's the only format available through my library currently.

Finally getting to last month's #botm. In the background is one sculpture from Sheryl Oring's installation, Writer's Block, created in reference to the Bebalplatz book burning on May 10, 1933. Spending a lot of time with this art, deinstalling it this week, and The Flight Portfolio has meant a lot of time thinking about war, art, and censorship.

While #theboysofsummer are waiting on their next game, I‘m reading the lovely tagged book. I‘m peopled out for the weekend. I swear the old man next to me at the last game asked me everything but my blood type. I‘m feeling stabby. #songsofsummer

I just finished my #BOTM pick from May. This was so good! It is historical fiction that takes place at the beginnings of WWII in France, prior to the US entering the war. It is different from other WWII books I have read. It is about an American organization trying to get refugee artists out of France. The book deals with issues of class, sexuality, and race. There is a lot to think about while reading this book.

Just not the right book for me right now.

So sad. This BOTM pick was not for me. So slow and just hard to get into. The story just didn‘t hold my attention. They can‘t all be awesome!

My reading buddy for the afternoon is all sacked out. 😻#catsoflitsy #Sophie

Anyone else reading this from BOTM? I‘m getting my hair done and brought it with me and I am finding it a bit slow/dry. Has anyone read it and can tell me if it gets better?

This is my next library book. Am I in the mood for it though? It's 560 pages of densely typed pages. I want to read it. But do I want to read it Now?

A couple of gorgeous quotes, a few pages apart in my current read. I‘m loving it so far.

Starting off a bit slow

I‘m pleased to report that the book pocket on BOTM‘s new tote is large enough to hold the longest BOTM I‘ve ever selected at 562 pages. Can‘t wait to put this bag to good use!

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#bookmail #BOTM #BOTMbff

Today was an awesome book mail day! My #BOTM box arrived, plus a Harold Bloom on reading the Romantic poets and a biography of poet Edward Thomas!📚😊💕 #nosuchthingastoomanybooks

My #BOTM box came in today. I love the new tote bag 💙

The mailman just dropped off my #botm box!!! I‘m looking forward to getting back into reading. My focus has been complete 💩. Excited for these books!

I had a pretty crappy day at work so it was nice to come home to this! #bookmail #botm

It‘s here ! 😁 #botm

Book of the Month arrived today! I think that‘s a record, since shipping included the weekend.

ALSO: less than five minutes using the web platform and I think I‘m a convert! I LOVE the ease of moving around in it, and especially nice are links to assorted bookstores; I think this will help get my stacks organized!

#BOTM arrived Friday. That was pretty speedy for BOTM and USPS.

If it‘s free, it‘s for me. (I know, I really paid my monthly fee so one isn‘t free, but the other one is 🙌🎉)

I was going to skip this month, but my add-on was free as a birthday gift from #botm so they suckered me in once again. Checked the wayyy back months and found The Line that Held Us. Definitely not a book that was on my radar; in fact, both of these are odd choices for me. Who am I today?!? 🤷‍♀️🤓

Apparently the only time I log in now is to post my #botm pics 👀 I was only going to get How Not to Die Alone but I saw that Flight Portfolio was gay and was morally obligated to get the gay book.

My #BOTM #TBR is OOC but this one piqued my interest so it‘s my May selection.

(Plus I want that new BOtM BFF tote 👀)

Anyone else not get an email from BOTM today? No usual message in my inbox, so I went straight to the website anyway since it‘s the first of the month.

Woo #BOTM picks!

I picked the tagged book because the Judge‘s blurb/synopsis was great and really made me want to read it!

And since I recently read The Hate U Give, I obviously had to pick up Angie Thomas‘s next book for an add on!

💚💚💚

Well, this was an easy pick for me since the others all sounded pretty awful, but I always enjoy a good WWII book, especially when they are based on a true story. Excited this was part of the #botm selections this month and can‘t wait to get it!

Had a hard time choosing, especially between the light-hearted, quirky How Not to Die Alone vying with a 500+ page chunker. Excited anyway, as I skipped last month! #botm

#botm
I love WWII fiction.
I also added on The Great Alone and I'm getting the tote for being a #botm bff

Thanks to the amazing people who get the BOTM spoilers! #notallheroeswearcapes
I‘m sooo excited about this book!! Her previous novel The Invisible Bridge is one of my top 10 of all time.
#maybotm