Welcome to Litsy!

(Partial) book haul for #independentbookstoreday - I bought at least one book at every store visited today (tagged but not pictured is a book I ordered from powells awhile ago that happened to arrive today). I definitely went a little wild today and am now on a book buying ban for the foreseeable future.

#BookReport 26/21

Another okay week. Here‘s to a better July!

These short stories form a raw depiction of #Iraq in its darkest years. The stories are filled with death, bombs, torture, beheadings, betrayal and pain. It‘s unimaginable this was Hassan Blasim‘s reality before he fled to Europe - and that of the many who stayed. How little we know.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention @Hooked_on_books

#ReadingAsia2021 🇮🇶

This searing story collection unveils the reality of living with constant risk of violence, which is dropped almost casually into each story, in #Iraq. It‘s brutal enough that I had to switch back and forth between this and a book that gives me joy. It‘s a worthy read.

#ReadingAsia2021

"Do I really have bad luck? Or was I born by mistake?"
-"That Inauspicious Smile"
The protagonist, on accidentally wandering into a neonazi bar in Finland. You do have to wonder. ?

-"A Thousand and One Knives"

"Once he asked me to help him collect time. We went down toward the valley, stretched out on our stomachs, and proceeded to stare at a weed without moving for more than an hour. We were as silent as stone statues. It was Marwan's belief that if we stared at anything in nature for an hour we would store that hour in our brains. While other people lost time, we would collect it."
-"Crosswords"

Really looking foreword to these recent thrifts! 📚
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#thrift#thrifty#iraq#middleeast

Book mail book mail book mail! 😍 Thanks Powell's Books for the sale last week. I definitely spoiled myself with a long time resident on my TBR (the title book above) and two authors whose works I've wanted to explore. Can't wait for the weekend now 🙌🏻
#bookmail #powellsbooks #translatedbooks

WE 👏🏻NEED 👏🏻 MORE 👏🏻 DIVERSE 👏🏻 BOOKS 👏🏻

After selling 26 copies of this based on a friend's enthusiastic recommendation, I finally read it. And I wonder how many people finished this book. It's good, but so grimdark.

I'm so excited about all of these! 😁 Any opinions on these you want to share?

So engrossed in reading this that I missed my metro stop 😕

I don't need any more new books, but ok maybe just one more... I expect this to be as dark as the title implies.

After trying to think of a light, fun book to recommend someone, it really hit me that I love dark, depressing, serious, usually really weird books. Anyone have recs for lighter but maybe still substantial books?

I waited an amazing 16 days to buy a book this year! And it was only 3.50! (When you work in a bookstore, that's a pretty good record.)

A duplicate from last month because Daughter of the Earth by Agnes Smedley isn't in the system!!!??? #booktober #textonlycover @RealLifeReading

#somethingforsept @RealLifeReading #shortstories

I wanted to challenge myself for today's #septphotochallenge by finding something in my collection that wasn't Japanese (because I have plenty of that). So here's what I found! Any suggestions to broaden my Asian book horizons? #somethingforsept

It's been really interesting seeing how everyone interprets #minimalistcovers and it's been fun searching my own shelves to see what I have. After seeing other posts, I think I have more than I originally thought but I'll stick with the two I pulled this morning. #augustphotochallenge