Welcome to Litsy!

Some of my five star reads from 2023! (Titles cut off from the screen shot are Much Ado About Nada by Uzma Jalaluddin, The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt, & The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson.) A few were rereads of favourites (Anne of The Island, Six of Crows duology) that I read while sick with pregnancy nausea and some October rereads of classic horror, but the rest were mostly new authors!

This book gets a promising start, following Damani as she drives for an Uber-like service, trying to make ends meet for herself and her mom after her father has died. But it end up going off the rails with multiple characters making choices inconsistent with who they are and their prior choices and ends with a thud.

The library‘s #Barbieheimer display. I sent this picture to a couple friends, and one said she wanted to read the tagged book. Probably because of the cover/title, but from the plot summary it sounds like a fun ride (so to speak).

Anyway, I loved the Barbie movie, especially Gloria‘s husband trying to learn Spanish and a reference to a much-loved novel adaptation. #IYKYK

I think for Oppenheimer I‘ll wait until I can stream it.

Damani is a bisexual South Asian making too little money driving for a ride share company in a city wracked with protests of every kind. She is deep in grief over her father‘s death & also caring for her partially paralyzed mother. Yet, this novel positively sizzles with sexy energy, the fight for social justice and a darkly funny narrative voice. #queer #LGBTQ #CanadianAuthor #ShadowGiller2023

What a book, so smart and darkly funny!! Damani is a queer brown rideshare driver who's scrapping by, dealing with grief and taking care of her mom. When Damani meets a rich white woman named Jolene, she falls hard and fast. But you know Jo is going to betray her, and it is tense waiting! Guns can write, and she can really transport the reader into Damani's head. The ending was totally perfect, expertly open-ended and conclusive at the same time.

I didn‘t get into how Appa never knew of my bisexuality, or that Amma cried for 30 days when she saw me kissing a girl. She had stopped speaking to me too. When Appa was working overtime one night, I locked the tv programming on lesbian porn. Amma called me, crying & apologized. She had said, “Fine, fine. Do whatever you want, Damani. Just stop the boobies & poonies. What are these women doing?”

"The sky seemed to fall on my back and I imagined the stars finding ways to nestle in my hair, reminding me I was born from its dust and from the dirt I stood on, where my ashes would one day rest before becoming stars again."

May Wrap-up & Friday Reads: #gardenwriting #LGBTQ #CanadianAuthors #poetry #comics #audiobooks #nonfiction
https://youtu.be/ul1bVH4yT9Y

"If Jolene was anything, she was the sun. Perfect at a distance, but up close, she could hurt my skin."

Damani this bitch is bad news run!!

#QueerBooks

"I'm not sure which was worse, being broke or being broken. Being both was definitely the worst though."

#QueerBooks #LGBTQBooks

Enjoyed it.

#wondrouswednesday

1. Fall 🍁
Pretzels 🥨
Green 💚
Sunflower 🌻
Mountains 🏔️ or Australian Outback 🦘
Wine 🍷 or tea 🫖
Clue 🕵🏽‍♀️

2. Currently reading: Oscar Wars, Lone Women, A Day of Fallen Night.

An interesting crime noir set in Sri Lanka. A financially strapped ride share driver becomes involved with enigmatic passenger and gets caught up in national politics and social injustice. Inspire by the film Taxi Driver, this queer based read is a great page turner.

Lots of book mail this month!?! And they all sound great. Which to read first...