Welcome to Litsy!

I learned so much from this book that I never knew! I gasped in shock many times and was completely engrossed. The human toll really was incredible.

Highly recommended to anyone that wants to understand one more corner of the world a bit better. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cheating again for May with a nonfiction favorite and a fiction favorite. I loved Unlikely Animals on audio.

#12DaysofChristmas. #12booksof2022

One of the best books I read in May 2022 and an excellent reminder to read more nonfiction! This account of the IRA and the conflict in Northern Ireland and its delicate peace process was interesting and educational.

12Bookof2022

Another excellent read by one of my favorite nonfiction authors.

I knew very little about the conflict in Northern Ireland. The way this book is written pulls the reader into the conflict giving accurate background information while also weaving in and out of the victim's life before the crime occurs. It felt like reading a novel, which is why I love PRK's writing.

One of the books that I have enjoyed the most. It offers an accurate account of the conflict in Northern Ireland and a very personal portrait of the people involved. It has the pace of a novel even though it is presenting historical facts based on research and interviews. I strongly recommend it.

Out of the three books I‘ve read by Keefe, this was my least favorite - still good, but it was harder to follow. The first half of the book was excellent but something happens in the second half that didn‘t connect the dots for me. I‘m glad to have read it and maybe would reread it again to see if it was me, not the author.

Tagged book has been on TBR for a long time! Found at the library in their sale nook!Never know what might be found there.

So enjoyed this session with Patrick Radden Keefe! He spoke for a bit then took several audience questions. Such an interesting person! I met him afterward and got the tagged book signed. I haven‘t read it yet, but was impressed by Rogues and Empire of Pain. He‘s an incredible journalist! And he was super nice. #southernfestivalofbooks #nashville

This is a very good and well researched book about some of the known key characters of the Irish troubles that began again in the 1970s in earnest. It‘s too bad all history books aren‘t this engaging, if they were, maybe more people would learn from it.

Some short #Booker2022 Longlist books leave some room for some other light night reading 😂. I‘m wondering how this will make as a companion piece between The Colony and Small Things Like These. I couldn‘t wait any longer to start this one after some recent Litsy comments. #BlameItOnLitsy

Current audiobook.

#ireland #history

Such a wonderful coincidence that I read two books about the history of Northern Ireland in a row and in such a perfect order (previous one is The Yellow House). I Love this book very much.
Now I learn the history related to the Cause, partition of the Ireland, the Trouble and the Good Friday Agreement and become a bit obsessive of the history thereof and want to know more about all that!!
Highly recommend!!

Another great week. Mary J. was the perfect book after finishing Say Nothing. 5 🌟s for both. The other two were good but not great. I need to finish Longings next for #LMPBC and read my Obama section for the month.

Say Nothing was my May #Bookspin

#MarvellousMayUpdate

Had a lovely 3 day weekend with lots of reading time. Say Nothing is an exceptional piece of nonfiction. I was riveted by the individual stories and learned so much about the Troubles. Troubles seems too small a word for this explosive time in Northern Ireland.

Loved Tookie and The Sentence and I am loving The Book of Longings for #LMPBC.

Read for #Booked2022 Spring - Written by a Journalist. It was interesting to see how the disparate threads would match up in this nonfiction account of an abduction and subsequent murder in N. Ireland in 1972 backgrounded by the rise of the Provisional IRA. It was a difficult book to digest at times because it‘s a complicated situation which has morphed now, decades later into an all too fragile peace. I thought it was excellent, tragic & honest.

Jean McConville was 38 when she disappeared, and she had spent nearly half her life either pregnant or recovering from childbirth.

Took a mental health day today. It‘s grey, windy and rainy so a good day for a fascinating book, a cozy blanket and hot tea.

Happy Friday!

Readers who enjoyed this book will also enjoy "Anatomy of a Killing: Life and Death on a Divided Island" by Ian Cobain.

May‘s #BookSpinBingo board. Really happy with the #BookSpin and #Doublespin books. Should be a lovely book filled month.

I guess I came to Say Nothing expecting a bit more true crime, and a little less history – which is a fault of my own, not Keefe‘s incredible work. It‘s less of a family saga than Empire Of Pain, and more a documentary-style investigation into the consequences of violence and silence. Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/say-nothing-patrick-radden-keefe/

I knew that so many Littens loved this but I was still wary; I was convinced that a NF book about politics and religion may be a bit dry.I couldn‘t have been more wrong. The author deftly weaves fascinating personal stories in with the bigger picture to create a compelling narrative of The Troubles in Northern Ireland.

I had an issue with the audio though; it just wasn‘t going into my brain so switched to print.

#booked2022 #writtenbyajournalist

“We have the strength and peace of mind of those who never compromise.” But the nature of a cease-fire and a peace process is precisely negotiation, soul searching, and compromise. Much blood has been spilled over a quarter of a century in the name of a stark and absolute ambition: Brits out. Yet that ambition has not been realized.

Keefe is talented at switching between the big and small pictures. He chose to look at the disappearance of a mother of 10 in the midst of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, but he wove it into the story of the larger IRA movement in the 1970s-90s. A professor at Boston University started an oral history archive of the Troubles, and he was inspired to write by the controversies around that.

Great choice for #NYWD22 @vivastory ! ⬇️

christmas came early 🎄
self care in the form of a book haul 📚

I knew I‘d get around to this book sometime after seeing Litsy reviews. I definitely don‘t know enough about Ireland‘s history & have always been confused about the IRA. Watching Derry Girls & listening to Empire of Pain made me finally check it out. If I‘d known the narrator had a lovely Irish accent, I would have listened a long time ago. Really interesting, well-researched. I now understand references in Derry Girls much better.

I‘ve long been aware of the Troubles because people from my hometown were highly suspected of gun running for the provisional IRA in the 1970s. Somehow I‘ve never read a nonfictional account of those 30 years of terror, and this sent me down the google and Netflix rabbit hole. So much I didn‘t know and I‘m intrigued to keep learning.

I‘ve already read- but if you haven‘t it‘s definitely worth the 99p if it‘s on offer where you are.

If you have any interest in Northern Ireland‘s tumultuous and complicated history, this is a good read.

#2
Working on two reading challenges at once. Listening to my audiobook for book club while cooking my second recipe from the Gourmet cookbook. A plain cheese omelette is for breakfast.

A deeply researched and wonderfully written account of the Northern Ireland “Troubles” and the role of the Irish Republican Army. It provides a framework to help understand the significance of the “Good Friday” Agreement, which all but ended the Troubles, and why BREXIT‘s implementation between the European Union (including Ireland) and Great Britain (including Northern Ireland) threatens peace and precipitate a new push for Ireland‘s unification.

#2021Book62
All of my knowledge of the Troubles in Ireland comes from the show Derry Girls, so it was interesting to learn more details about the war between Protestants and Catholics that has caused so much death in that part of the country. Most of the book gets right to the point and explores the motivations of various people involved in the struggle. Some sections, however, seemed to just drag on and repeat information we'd already learned.

Finally got around to reading this book and loved it. It has stayed on my mind. Terribly sad, but a fascinating account of a period of which I had only surface knowledge.

#midyearfaves Day 10 of 10 This has been a very difficult year in many respects, but books (& bookish communities) have helped me retain my sanity. As I've noted, nonfiction has played a surprising role this year & Keefe's “Say Nothing“ has been a shining example of a compelling & informative book about a period of history which I knew little. Keefe uses a cold case murder investigation as the backdrop to relating the story of The Troubles in👇

Donated more stuff (not just books) to the thrift shop, and brought these home!

I really enjoyed this. It was a detailed narrative history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland that was so gripping it felt like watching a TV drama, without ever seeming exploitative or garish. Excellent and I learned a lot.

Say Nothing opens with two detectives from Belfast visiting the John J. Burns Library at Boston College to collect files for a cold case, Keefe uses this individual case as the starting point, & backdrop, to the larger story of The Troubles in Northern Ireland. This book is wild. At several points, I literally exclaimed, “Holy shit.“ More so it is informative, compelling, thoroughly researched & the lives of the individuals involved 👇

I've read half of this book today. Riveting, informative & absolutely wild...

Anything to do with the IRA and the Troubles, I‘m intensely interested in. It was a horrific time period, and I cannot imagine being caught up, on either side, of it. Telling the story around one of the more troubling and shocking of the disappeared, was an interesting and new POV. Highly recommended.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This nonfiction read was super captivating and educational about The Troubles and the IRA in Ireland. It read like a thriller. Will definitely recommend! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sadly, tensions are flaring in Northern Ireland again.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/08/world/europe/northern-ireland-violence-brexit...

this book has an incredibly high ratio of how much I enjoyed it versus how little it fits into my usual reading habits. Captivating storytelling within the context of a part of history that I was pretty ignorant of, and gave me lots to reflect on in matters of history, violence, and what we mean when we say revolution.

I highly recommend this. It‘s nonfiction that reads like fiction. Solid writing and storytelling and of course a fascinating and tragic subject. If you haven‘t yet, read this book!!

Quite the interesting story. I‘ve always heard a little of the IRA and conflict in Northern Ireland but never knew the why or details. So frightening, because it strikes closer to home more now than ever due to the vitriol and animosity that‘s existed in America over the last year. I see the beginning of a path that can lead to deep hatred and outward violence. A riveting, yet horrifying story of decades of unresolved issues.

“Physical force is the sign of the desperation of the poor.” #saynothing #patrickraddenkeefe #northernireland #irishrepublicanarmy #civilunrest #thetroubles #history #civilwar #ireland #england #britain

My grandfather was born in Belfast, though he came to the US well before the timeframe of this book. This is FASCINATING. (Also harrowing, but I can‘t look away.) #saynothing #patrickraddenkeefe #northernireland #truecrime #irishrepublicanarmy #ira #civilunrest

My favorite in Non-Fiction or Memoir was Say Nothing. The others in my top ten list include Bad Blood
Hidden Valley Road
Priestdaddy
Book of Eels
Good Talk
Born A Crime
Death in the Air
Know My Name
Becoming Duchess Goldblatt

A great NF read, especially after novel “Milkman,” and of personal interest as I did peace work there in the early 90s. Keefe explores Catholic politics in Northern Ireland from the late 60s to the present through four varied people: politician Gerry Adams, two differing IRA members, and a disappeared mother, keeping the complex info and analysis flowing and engaging. (Bonus: audio is read by a Belfast actor.)
#Nonfiction2020 #SomethingaboutGuns

#newyearwhodis

Incase you‘re feeling impatient Scott - here‘s my list. Happy to guide you through and put the list in some sort of order for you... I‘m also going to take a bet with myself on the two or three that might appeal to you!

True crime/history of the Troubles. A well researched book and fascinating to listen to.

A riveting story about the decades of political strife and violence in Northern Ireland. Meticulously researched, it manages to read more like a thriller than non-fiction. Heartbreakingly candid, the author doesn‘t shy away from the complicated personal histories of the IRA‘s leaders and the violent elements on both sides during “the Troubles”. I listened on audio and loved the Irish accent of the narrator. Highly recommend! #nonfictionnovember