Welcome to Litsy!

To call this one a ‘biography‘ feels reductive. This 2010 masterpiece of journalistic non-fiction is much more than the dates and facts of a life. It‘s an study of bioethics, a masterclass in accessible science writing, and a testament to the human consequences of scientific discovery. And it‘s compelling as heck, to boot! Full review: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/the-immortal-life-of-henrietta-lacks-rebecc...

Hopefully on target to finish 3 bingo lines, including #bookspin and #doublespin picks for March. Need to finish the tagged, North and South for #pemberlittens and start Lark Rise to Candleford for the hat trick by Friday! Getting into reducing that tbr pile nicely. Although like any other bibliophile, they're immediately replaced tenfold. 😂📚📚📚📚

@TheAromaofBooks

What will April bring?

Wow! I know I'm really late to the party on this, but what a story! I devoured this in 2 sittings. It's incredibly readable! I adored the author's balance of science, history, ethics, & relationships. Deborah's journey to learn about her mother & sister touched me deeply. I know I'll be thinking about this book for a long time. Thank goodness for #Bookspin! I finally picked this up and dove in! This was my #Doublespin for March @TheAromaofBooks

I‘ve had this one on my shelf for years and I need to read it!! Have you read it?

#SavvySettings
#Laboratory

I'm behind schedule, so here is my February pick as well for #12booksof2021

This was an excellent work of journalism and a heartbreaking story of exploitation.

Oh my word, it took me forever to finish this book. I think I expected too much. Or maybe it was just the extremely questionable theology towards the end that put me off! ⭐⭐⭐

Truly a commendable effort for Rebecca Skloot to publish this and tell the story of Henrietta Lacks and her family on how scientists did research on her cells without consent. I liked that Skloot shed some light on the family drama and didn‘t make it all about Henrietta.

I can‘t believe it took me so long to read this! This should be required reading, even for high schoolers.

4⭐️
11/8/21

5✨ I could not put this down! I‘ve heard of Henrietta Lacks immortal cells because I teach science and try to stay current. While it did have the major medical advancements that the HeLa cells help to benefit it was more about the history and the family she left behind. A lot of heart break, but trying to make it right along the way. #roaringwolf (just for fun)-Reaching for the Stars @Littlewolf1

Appreciated the balance of science and family history that Rebecca Skloot created for her book.

#QuotsyJul21 #cell

The most famous & important cells I can think of. This book was so interesting but made me so angry for Henrietta & all of the others misused in the name of medicine.

“These cells have transformed modern medicine. … They shaped the policies of countries and of presidents. They even became involved in the Cold War. Because scientists were convinced that in her cells lay the secret of how to conquer death.”

Wow! I wanted to read this because I thought it was important material. I was pleasantly surprised with how readable Skloot wrote it. She is quite talented!

Ms. Lacks‘ cells have a unique capacity to reproduce for generations, seemingly without end. Her cells have been used in cancer research for decades. Unfortunately, this research was done done without her consent. Is it any wonder that Black Americans distrust the medical field here?

Glad to have finally read the amazing history of the HeLa cell line and the woman who has contributed so much to science. However, the history of the Lacks descendants is a tragic one and was difficult to read at times. Skloot raises important questions around informed consent, tissue rights, and racism in medicine. Had Henrietta been white would things have been different for her family and would her name have lived in obscurity for so long? 4⭐️

The view from our campsite and a perfect reading spot! #camanoislandstatepark #pnw

Another book; another tear-inducing epigraph.

Most perfect day in Boston. Loving this book but probably a little behind pace since book club is in a week. But who can resist a cold on outside RN?!

My Mother‘s Day book haul. 🥰

This is fascinating! Even when I step away from it, I'm thinking about it.

It‘s extremely rare for me to be this riveted by nonfiction. I could not put this book down.

I‘ve had so many recommendations for this, I‘m thrilled it landed in my LFL. I‘ll be keeping this one.

What a remarkable story. The science has been crucial to our civilization. And the poor family‘s struggles.

I‘ll be recommending this one now!

#readingthestates2021 #Maryland

One nice perk of having a Little Free Library is when a book you‘ve been wanting to read is dropped in it by one of your patrons! I‘m adding this to my TBR for next month 🙂📚.

#Sietje is enjoying some sun in the library this morning. We‘re about to head out for a walk.
#PetsOfLitsy #DogsOfLitsy

#NonfictionScience #Winter I listened to this book ... I didn‘t know Henrietta‘s story , so I learned a lot. This book has been on my kindle for years .... so Thank you #Booked2021 for getting me to it. ❤️💔
I‘m nearly there for this winter season ... Im on a race to the finish line 🏃‍♀️ Almost there 🤞🏻

#weeklyforecast

Making progress on 3 books, including the #NarniaReadalong . Got sidetracked from Jane Jacobs by the story of Henrietta Lacks. Excellent introduction to the causes for distrust of hospitals and researchers among Blacks. Highly recommended.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The author tells the story of how the hela cells began and the story of the woman they came from. Henrietta Lacks‘ biopsy was taken without her permission and the cells have been shipped all over the world. There are now more of her cells alive than there were when she was living.

This would read like a (horror) movie if you didn‘t know it was real. Scientists took cells from Henrietta Lacks when she was dying with cervical cancer and used them, without her family‘s knowledge, to carry out scientific research but also to make a lot of money.

The whole Lacks family was appallingly treated, right up to the current day but Skloot treats them all with sensitivity.

#booked2021
#nonfictionscienceorsciencewrittenbyawoman

This was my first experience with narrative non-fiction on the adult level.. I always find them on the dry side. This book, however, was a great read. Skloot made a difficult topic understandable to even me. I fell in love with the family members of Henrietta. Clearly, the book brings up a multitude of ethical, moral, and social issues and might cause you to think twice in the Dr's office next time. Definitely read this.

It‘s here and opened! Freakin‘ can‘t wait. #botm

Okay Ladies in Group T for Thriller, Here‘s a few options I‘ve come up with. Does anyone have any preferences? Super excited to be reading with you.

One of the best nonfiction books that I have ever read. It was such an easy read. It was not dry whatsoever. The sheer scope of the impact that Henrietta Lacks‘ cells had on science is astronomical. I was not aware before reading this book that her cells were from her cervix and that HPV is what lead to her cells reacting the way that they did. People are so unfamiliar with HPV and it needs to be talked about more. I highly recommend this book.

Group T is looking for another member. Who‘s ready for a Thriller group. It‘s loads of fun. Here‘s the link. https://m.signupgenius.com/#!/showSignUp/5080444aead2ca0ff2-l... #lmpbc #thriller

Super glad I started this this morning. It was mentioned in #sundaybuddyread discussions hosted by @TheBookHippie So far it‘s both fascinating and mortifying. Thanks for a great discussion.

I‘m so excited to kick off Black History Month with this book! It‘s been on my “to read” list forever and it will also be the first book I review on this app. 😁#nonfiction #blackhistorymonth #theimmortallifeofhenriettalacks

For #booked2021 - Non-fiction science written by a woman

I've also read a book set in Australia (Nine Perfect Strangers) and a book where the M/C is a doctor or nurse (The Thursday Murder Club - retired, but I'm counting it??)

>>Today's #bookstagram features a fabulous #nonfictionnerd pick that I read about 5 years ago. If you have not read the tagged book, you should as soon as humanly possible. It's one of the most "unputdownable" books you'll ever read!!

Status: READ and loved!! ?

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#read #history #science #cancer #biology #humanbody #women #race #paperbacks #booksiown #miracles #truestory #bestbooks

I inhaled this in two sittings and have been putting off my review because I know I can't possibly do it justice.
I learned so much I didn't know I wanted to know. The science, medical ethics, and story of Henrietta and her family are in turns horrifying, fascinating, heartbreaking, infuriating, and utterly incredible. Everyone should know her and her everlasting impact on our world.
Thank you @MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm for the recommendation!!!

HeLa is one of the oldest and most common cell lines used in scientific research. But she was also a black women - Henrietta Lacks - whose cancer cells were taken and used without her permission. Told in a great mix of science and memoir, this is the story of Henrietta and her cells, and the consequences of her ‘immortality‘ for her family and the world.

#Booked2021 #NonfictionScienceByAWoman

Ahh @MegaWhoppingCosmicBookwyrm you totally spoiled me! I love that we both got so excited about sharing our favorites that we looked a bit farther back than just 2020 😅 So excited to read so many incredible sounding new books (some real chunksters in there too) & TBH I love that one is a library copy. Books with character are the best. Thank you thank you, Meagon, & thanks to @candority for putting this together!!

#BestOf2020Swap #Bestof2020

My last two thrift store finds combined. Wish I could retire so I could read all day!

1. I'm most looking forward to the tagged book for #newyearwhodis with @megawhoppingcosmicbookwyrm and trying to get my hands on a copy of The Midnight Library which remains elusive! A pretty popular book, so it seems! 😂
2. No reading regrets at all! This was my best reading year of my entire life and joining Litsy was definitely a good call!

Tagging if you're interested in joining in: @rehesina @icantimreading

#two4tuesday @thespineview

I cry easily when it comes to books, so I narrowed it down to the first book I remember wrecking me, Where the Red Fern Grows, and the most current one that wrecked me, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.
The former is a novel about a boy and his dogs and their love and devotion to each other. The latter is a true account of a woman‘s immortal cells and their impact on science, humanity, and her direct descendants.
#FridayFeelings
@Cuilin
Tag:

Recommended by Rachel, I enjoyed this book. Lacks was an African-American woman whose cells were taken from her and then used in scientific and medical research. It follows Lacks‘s life and the present the author is gathering info to write the book. Excellent example of how Black bodies are exploited in the name of progress. #NFN20 #NFN2020

There aren‘t words. I haven‘t stopped thinking about it since I started it. The story is absolutely insane, you‘d think it was a science fiction novel rather than a real story about a real woman, and a real family. Skloot weaves a poignant, heartfelt narrative through decades of tragedy for Henrietta Lacks and her descendants. The book makes you think hard about ingrained issues in our society and how we devalue people for knowledge and money.

I just realized I completely forgot to post my goals for #CrushTheRush by @Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick
I only have one more book to finish (tagged) before I hit my preplanned goal for 2020 of 52 books. Here I thought it was an impossible goal when I set it for myself. Mostly thanks to Litsy, I‘ve been doing more reading than I have in a long time. 📚❤️
So my goal is just to try and see if I can squeeze in 3-5 more books before the end of the year.

Henrietta Lacks changed medical science yet most scientists don't know her name. The medication we take today is down to the progress medical science made through her immortal life, yet her own family can not afford doctors. I was upset and angry to read the authors note at the beginning, my fury and sadness only rose from there.

5 stars. Easily.

I truly enjoyed this booked and learned a lot. Rebecca Scloot did a fantastic job of telling the family‘s story in a very tasteful way while also educating the reader about HeLa cells and cell research. I cried for Deborah and Elsie so many times. And poor Zakariyya, his ACEs score is so high, no wonder he was such an angry adult. Book 16 of 2020

#3books that made me mad (for different reasons)

Immortal Life because how she was treated in life & how her body was then treated. The worst side of capitalism.

Staggering Genius because it had potential but the grating self-awareness, the pretentiousness made me DNF it in disgust

Hillbilly because he made sweeping generalizations of southerners & Appalachian culture & came across as pompous Eli-elite about it all

Keep an eye on your porch @madams421 . Some Litsy love is on its way to you ❤️❤️ #litsylovefallswap @rsteve388 @Bookgoil

This is such an incredibly fascinating book! I had never heard of Henrietta Lacks or HeLa before and I wish I could say I'm shocked. I wish this was the type of thing more people knew about and the perfect type of audiobook for me!

#3books #basedontruestories

Henrietta Lacks. Her involuntary contribution to the science community changed the future of medicine. Long after her death she paved the way for the polio vaccine, chemotherapy, gene mapping , and in vitro fertilization. She is so much more than her cells. A mother, beloved. She left a legacy that knew nothing of her contributions to the medical field and benefited none from it. The author balanced science with human interest perfectly.