Welcome to Litsy!

I am looking for some great reads in 2023! Please share with me your favorite of 2022! Give me a post and tag with your favorite or favorites of the year. Happy reading in 2023! #mybookoftheyear!

#12booksin2022 I have two great books in February but this might have been the best books I read this year, so I had to choose this! The Firekeeper‘s Daughter was a close second.

I‘ve read some criticisms about the accuracy of this book and I understand the point but I still really enjoyed it. Some of the language was a bit cheesy and dramatic but it still got me choked up at numerous points. 2 sisters in France during WWII, one battling home life in a occupied village and the other joining the resistance. The characters were really deep and complex and flawed.

Girl power

📚 tagged!
📚Nicholas Sparks
📚National Treasure
📚Nelly
📚Night Train by Jason Aldean

I‘m all over the place 😂

#ManicMonday
#LetterN

#manicmonday #LetterN @CBee

📖 The Nightingale by Hannah
🖋 Nora Roberts
🎥 Now You See Me
📺 The Neighborhood
🎤 NKOTB, No Doubt
🎶 Never Say Goodbye by Bon Jovi, Need You Now by Lady A

Stack of books that I have high expectations based on hype but I'm too afraid to touch because I don't want to kill the illusion. I asked a book club which one I should read first, popular response was The nightingale.
#tbr #books

A very compelling book tracing the Holocaust‘s impact on France and the bravery of the women who gave up everything to save hundreds of innocent lives. A must listen.

Kristen is a genius writer and Polly is a phenomenal performer. :)

This was historical fiction done right! I really enjoyed it. The storytelling was beautiful and raw. Not an easy read but it wasn‘t an easy time. Truly beautiful and captivating story.

Finally read this one. It told an interesting story of two sisters and their roles in Occupied France during WWII. As historical fiction this was quite good and very emotional at the end.

Wow, a truly phenomenal book on World War 2, particularly the women‘s war. It‘s so heart wrenching with incredible characters, a riveting story line, and incredible research. An absolute must-read.

This is a hard one because a lot of the time it depends on the person you are recommending the book and the situation, but if I had to choose three to recommend, I would choose:
1) The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
2) The Five by Hallie Rubenhold
3) The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

#littenswanttoknow

This is a story of a family in France during the 2nd World War, with emphasis on the 2 sisters and the hardships and horrors they experienced. It is also a tale of bravery and love.

I finished this book yesterday and I reread the last chapter when I woke up. I thought about it throughout the night. It was an excellent book. It was haunting, but most books based on traumatic horrifying moments in history are. Both times I read the last chapter I was crying; Tears of sadness and love. My grandmother suggested this book. It will stay with me. I love the line in the end of the book “Men tell stories.” “Women get on with it.”

#AlphabetGame #LetterN

Kristin Hannah will appear several times for me during #AlphabetGame
This is one of my favorites by her.

Loved this one! Also good are:
Nothing to See Here
The Night Circus
The Nickel Boys

#letterN #alphabetgame @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

This #lettern is Hannah‘s finest work! A great gateway historical fiction for those unsure about the genre.

#AlphabetGame
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I loved this book the first time I read it; the back and forth was so engrossing that it had me guessing until the very end of the book. As I was finishing the book, the first time, I was bawling my eyes out as I was listening to the audio and hence I couldn‘t quite focus on the page as I read it. #lettern #alphabetgame

BOOK MAIL! This is my favorite Kristin Hannah novel, and possibly one of my top 5 all time favorite novels. Had to have a signed copy of this one. Bummer it's not a first edition. I do own a first edition. To keep them both or not? 🤔

#suckerforsignedcopies #bookmail

Seriously so amazing. Read the whole book in one day. Wow!!! Everyone needs to read this.

1. Tagged. TMI but I was in the middle of miscarriage and this book had me sobbing several times.
2. Historical Fiction. You get different perspectives of the past, often through the eyes of the oppressed.
3. Too many…Fountains of Silence, the Nightingale & the Four Winds.

1) The Nightingale and When Breath becomes Air

2) Historical fiction. It combines my two favourite things: history and fiction. I did a BA in History and was a couple of courses short of a minor in English. I‘ve always been fascinated by history since I was a kid.

3) All the Light We Cannot See, All Quiet on the Western Front and the tagged book are probably the best examples of the genre.

#wondrouswednesday

1. Tagged book made me ugly cry.
2. I love the mystery genre. There‘s usually a familiar structure, but within that structure there‘s a huge amount of variety possible.
3. And Then There Were None
#wondrouswednesday

Wow! What an amazing read. So many times you wish for a story to take you away, out of the present and transport you into the book itself. This was that book! Two sisters in France, WWII, love and loss. A tragic but beautiful story. #warbooks

Could not put this one down! An interesting perspective of a time in history. Must read! 10/10

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks gifted me this book many years ago - it “christened” our new friendship💞 So thoughtful and meaningful for us.

#AFriendsFavoriteBook #BookMoods

#Friend/Stranger #BigJuneReadathon @Clwojick

This was my first Kristin Hannah book and I LOVED it! I loved the character development and how she created such a beautiful description of the challenges they faced. I typically don't cry when I read a book (contrary to recent posts), but I sobbed through this one.

This historical fiction was so moving. I will be picking up some of Kristin Hannah's other books. She may be one of my new favorite authors!

Takes a few chapters to get the story rolling. Great book!

Here are my #Roll100 books for May.

Did I read any of the books in April, no I did not. Hopefully May is better for me!

“Oh, for heaven‘s sake, Isabelle. Paris is overrun. The Nazis control the city. What is an eighteen-year-old girl to do about all of that?” Oh what, indeed.. Yet another fantastic historical fiction from K.H. this time set in 1940‘s France during WWII. Men always assume war is about them.. this is about the women, the home front. Heartbreaking, inspiring, and wholesome! Isabelle will stay with me for a long time..

Hands down one of the best books I've ever read!! I love stories that are set in the WWII Era. Kristin Hannah does a great job of building her characters around the story. 💜

#kristinhannah #thenightingale

1) Historical fiction
2) tagged!
3) Kristen Hannah, Beatriz Williams, Fiona Davis, and Kate Quinn 📚

#SundayFunday

In an amusing coincidence the novel I'm reading just referenced my current poetry collection! 🙃

I have prolonged finishing this amazing book. But tonight is the night. I know I am late to the party.

This book was incredibly moving, I literally sobbed through the last two chapters. There isn‘t anything I didn‘t like about it. Never, at any point did I feel bored, or like the story was lagging. This book is beyond beautiful and brilliantly written. If you‘re a lover of historical fiction novels, this is YOUR book! The story is heartbreakingly heavy, but worth it! It‘s definitely one that will stay with you forever. #thenightingale

This book. This book has pulled at every heart string I have. This book has caused the flood gates to open. This book has given me a deeper understanding of what sacrifice looked like 80 years ago. This book I‘ve had to stop reading three different times because I was so overcome with emotions. This book is one that I feel is going to stay with me forever.

“Wounds heal. Love lasts. We remain.” A compelling story about love, loss, and survival during the inhumanity of WWII.

I‘m so excited to start this one!

Loved it. Incredibly sad but amazing the way she wrote about women and the relationship between sisters. Of course a novel set during WW2 is hard to read sometimes but very beautiful.

#FirstLineFridays

Impossible to read that without elongating those vowels and hearing it in your head.

Although this was WWII fiction, I enjoyed reading what could have been the perspective, struggle, joys, losses, and everything in between, of those that lived through the war. Through the characters and their virtues or weaknesses it allows you to self reflect on what you would do or whose character resonates with you most. Through the difficulties of war these characters found what they were looking for within themselves and between themselves.

I struggle a bit with WWII fiction... every once in awhile you come across a beautiful story, but much of it feels almost exploitative to me. Like if you want to write a historical best seller, write about WWII.
That being said, I loved this book. I only read it because it was a gift so I was very surprised to find myself unable to put it down. It was the story of two very different sisters and their experiences in France during the war.

I LOVED this book with my entire heart and soul. One of my top three books of all time. ❤️

1) the tagged of course 💙
2) most all of Jodi Picoult‘s books
3) I‘m going to say domestic fiction. It‘s listed as thriller and suspense, but I disagree. (The Push)

#WondrousWednesday

I finished up this quick knit while listening to the tagged audio during my lunch break today. (Pardon the awkward face... I was sending a selfie to my sister 🤣)
I'm trying to learn more than just the basics of knitting, so this is brioche stitch and I just cast on a hat that's done in 2-color brioche. Also, very much enjoying the audiobook so far! #audioknitting #knitting #litsycrafters

Buddy reading this with a friend. Read it about five years ago, but don‘t remember anything. Really liking it so far. I really love anything with sisters.

Currently reading… What are your thoughts about this book? This is not my preferred genre, but I wanted to give it a try. 📚❤️

I admit that the prompt #ByKristinHannah for #52books was one I anticipated the least. Perhaps even dreaded it. I never really had interest in her books and maybe even read one bad review that subconsciously stuck with me. BUT after seeing numerous people rave that this was a favorite (especially you @aperfectmjk ) I decided to put a hold on The Nightingale and it was one of the better books I read this year. ⬇️