Welcome to Litsy!

I know this one has mixed reviews but I liked it, it was interesting to see this family dynamic through different generations, the romance between Hazel and Myron and how Memphis was described. However, I felt past and present were not well integrated, sometimes I felt confused where I was. I can understand that Miriam wanted to change, break the domestic violence cycle but going back to that house was a way to victimized her daughter⬇️

A difficult read in format and content. I‘m fine with switching characters and I‘m fine with flopping around through time, but this moved in such a way that I was never able to find my footing to connect well with the story or characters. That being said, I loved this family of women and the story was great. So much hardship, and great use of historical context as a backdrop. #womensprize

Next up!

#11 #WomensPrize #Longlist

Three generations of women in Memphis, TN. Simultaneously a glorious homage to black womanhood and an exposition of structural violence. There were times when the structure frustrated me - four POVs jumping back and forth in time, events and their connections parceled out bit by bit - but it did all become clear in the end.

#WomensPrize 2023 #longlist

I so wanted to love this, but sadly, it was only okay for me. I appreciated the story she was telling, but didn‘t get on with the writing style. I tend to find spare, understated prose most effective. When I‘m getting poetic embellishments like “her sequin dress looking like a thousand fireflies twinkling in a southern summer field” and “watching him felt like watching sap trickle down a maple” on almost every page, I just shut down. #WomensPrize

The writing of this family saga was heartfelt. You could feel the love this author has for her characters. It is a straightforward multigenerational tale of a black family living in a country that is deadly. Well deserved nomination for The Womens Prize and The Aspen Words Prize. 3 🌟 #52bookclub23 #womensprize #citynameintitle @Clwojick @BookBelle84 @jennifer80 @Librarybelle @triplem80 @AshleyHoss820 @LauraReads @KarenUK @britt_brooke

There is some very difficult subject matter in this one (see TW below), but what carries you through is the overlying feel of hope and the strength that can be found in black families, women, and communities. Stringfellow has created a beautiful family of women, fully realized in all their strengths and vulnerabilities, love and rage, gifts, talents, and quirks.

Cont'd below...

#WomensPrize #WomensPrizeLonglist23

I am undecided on if this is a pan or so-so.
It was a BOTM book that I passed over and never would have picked up if it hadn't been long listed for the Women's Prize.
Due to my own past I avoid all books that talk about military life, especially military wives, and this starts with that life, domestic violence, and child rape. It was a tough read, but not 1 I feel I get anything out of.
+ to that continually changing choppy timelines- not for me.

I really liked the strong female relationships in this one. The writing was also beautiful and created a real sense of the place. I found all the different points of view. Bit frustrating and am not convinced they came together to tell a better story than if we had kept with just one or two narrators. Still a good solid read and claiming fro #booked2023 #setintwoormoretimeperiods it‘s also going to be my US for #readingtheamericas

Gorgeous, poetic writing. Painful, gruesome story. Can‘t say it was an enjoyable read, but I was absolutely in awe of the mother-daughter-sister bonds and found the ending especially moving.

#WomensPrize23LongList I didn‘t love this book as much as @Cortg but it was a solid debut. My disappointment was with stylistic choices - mostly the nonlinear time jumps from multiple characters #POV, which were not easy to distinguish between. I did enjoy the audio narration. A story featuring 3 generations of southern black women with a strong bond of sisterhood.

I won this one from Goodreads! I love about an hour and a half from Memphis and have been many times! Thank you @penguinrandomhouse so much!!

The cover is stunning!! 💙💛💜❤️💚💛🖤🤍

Fantastic read! The story of 3 generations of strong, black women from Memphis, TN and their ups and downs in this so called life. I really enjoyed the writing style. The chapters of each woman/narrator goes back and forth through the years and their stories are pieced together rather than going straight through a timeline. #ReadHarder23 ~listen to an audiobook performed by a POC of a book written by an AOC #Booked2023 ~featuring 3 generations

The first part of my #WomensPrize order has arrived. So excited for all of these!

This was a really brilliant, moving, hard story set in Memphis. Three generations of a Southern Black family tell their stories. All the women were incredibly and inspiring.

Please keep my city in your thoughts and prayers as they are releasing the footage tonight from the brutal beating of #TyreNichols by 5 Memphis police officers. I pray everyone stays safe and we don‘t let this destroy our city, but unite us for #JusticeForTyre. 🙏💔

Post 3/5
Second stop on my Hudson Valley book trail was Oblong Books in Millerton! Absolutely could‘ve spent all day there. Really effective displays with so many outward-facing books, plus a robust section with stationary, calendars, games and more. They also have an attached kids bookstore and a secondary location. I got the tagged book (by a fellow NU alum!) plus two others I‘d been itching to find!

Book 171

Memphis is the story, spanning over 70 years, of 3 generations of black women.They face familial violence, police brutality, the cycle of poverty, and setting aside personal ambitions for motherhood.The novel jumps between time periods; the family tree in the initial pages is helpful. Not feeling invested until past the halfway mark, the novel is a slow-burn.The characters are all different but not equally dynamic.

Glorious book of black womanhood and struggle for my #doublespin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The language and imagery here are beautiful.

Finally getting to this one, in snatched moments of grandparent-childcare. Not sure what I was expecting, but interesting so far.

A great perspective on family and place.

Finding a lot of good prose in “Read with Jenna” books.

Hoping to finish up this one over the weekend, absolutely loving it so far
What are you planning to read?

Wonderful.
Thanks for the recommendation @trishb

Last day of my holiday. I can think of worse plans for the evening.

This book was fantastic. I couldn‘t put it down but didn‘t want it to end.

It‘s a multi-generational saga of the women in one family, across 70 years of their lives, through thick and thin. I loved all of the strong female characters and want to be friends with them all!

This will easily make my top books of 2022 list.

#weeklyforecast

I‘ve had enough of ‘serious‘ Booker reads for now and stuck at home with a poorly puppy while hubby has gone out to a classic car show. Trying to decide which of these to start next… knowing me, probably both of them! 🤣 I‘m not sure if either of them will be any ‘lighter‘ but we‘ll see.

Having said that I‘ll still listen to Glory this week as I‘m driving to a couple of meetings, plus I‘ll carry on with Booth too….

Relaxing on the patio & enjoying the sunshine as I follow along to this 🔥 of a book while listening to the audio version. It‘s a read that includes heavy topics and is beautifully written with a strong sense of place. This book is yearning to be used in educational curriculum & a book club.💥

Love this cover! #currentread after swimming a personal record . #BookspinBingo #BFC2022 @TheAromaofBooks @wanderinglynn

A multigenerational saga. Lots of highs and lows and change and grief and happiness and ultimately choosing in spite of adversity. Even though she‘s fictional, you root for Joan and want her to flourish and thrive and for her art to carve out a bright future for her.

• ModernMrsDarcy.com 2022 Summer Reading Guide #MMDSummerReading #MMDBookClub

This debut novel is told over 70 years from the shifting perspectives of Hazel, her daughters‘, Miriam and August, and Miriam‘s daughter, Joan. The book jumps back and forth through time as it slowly unveils the legacy each generation passes down to the next.

5🌟/5🌟 I loved this book, and was sad to see it end.

I really enjoyed the story of the North women but I wish we heard more from the matriarch, Hazel and at least a chapter from the youngest (and funniest) member of the family, Mya. Also, can we have a novella about the mysterious neighbor, Miss Dawn?

As you can tell, I got attached to the characters in this book. I hope to meet them again.

Special s/o to Penguin Random House for a copy of the arc and access to the audiobook.

Great read with fantastic characters and a backdrop of serious themes. Really loved it. Finished in one evening I was so engrossed!

🎧Finishing up!

#bookmail
Todays treats 😁

I‘m not sure I‘ve ever had a grid where so many books inch there. way into an A status (4.5=A-). Thanks to public libraries for allowing me so much fun! The tagged was an important book for me to read.

5* = Loved It, want to shout out loud about this book! I do/will own/keep a physical copy. A+
4*= I liked it, would love to discuss. Solid B
3*=Meh, no need to discuss. Average C
2*=Nope D
1*=DNF F

This book wastes no time in tackling tough stuff on the individual, family, and societal levels and never lets up. But it‘s also super readable because of the beautifully drawn characters. I loved their story and thought it flowed really nicely, even as I was sometimes stopped in my tracks by memorable lines like “She wore concern on her face like foundation.” (Also the most moving audiobook acknowledgments section I‘ve ever heard!)

#Netgally #ARC #Memphis

This ARC was provided by John Murray Press

In some ways this is a great story of girl power in others it is a painful exploration of race relations in the US from 1943 to 2003.

For a debut novel this one really packs a punch and it does make you think about what it meant and what it still does mean to be a black woman in the US.

Full review here https://thereadersroom.org/2022/05/28/memphis-by-tara-m-stringfellow/

These three generations of women with their lives centered in Douglass, Memphis, Tennessee felt so real to me. Not a spoiler here - I can‘t imagine the dynamics of my family if our patriarch was murdered because his peers believed he had no right to be that peer.

Favorite book I‘ve read so far this year. Full stop.

#ThoughtfulThursday @MoonWitch94 Thanks for the tag @Enchanted_Bibliophile
💠Memphis by Tara M. Springfellow
💠Audiobook
💠⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Tagging @ItsAnotherJen @HOTPock3tt @WorldsOkayestStepMom
💠I do, but not all books.

Memphis follows three generations of women in the North family through traumas and joys, building their relationships and community in a way that‘s just so well done. The writing and characters are fantastic and the emotional pacing is so spot-on that it‘s hard to believe this is a debut. I do feel it lost a little strength at the end, but overall, this book is phenomenal!

❤️

Celebrated #independentbookstoreday at my happy place and favorite #bookstore @larkandowlbooksellers in Georgetown,Texas.

Memphis is an ode to family and to a city. The street names have as much importance as the people who live and love on that street. The streets define what is home for the North sisters. You bounce between multiple generations to gain the full history that gives the women in the North family their gifts. This story celebrates the strength of Black women, the resilience of the Black community, and what family can do when they stand together.

The ending didn‘t quite stick for me but books like this are why I read.

This novel follows three generations of Black women living in a house in Memphis. Tara wrote an amazing debut with compelling characters. Highly recommend!

Hazel‘s husband built the house, and she brought up her daughters, Miriam and August, there. After Hazel dies, Miriam and her two daughters return to the family home where August is living with her troubled son. The story is nonlinear and checks in with each woman at pivotal life moments.