Welcome to Litsy!

#BookerLonglist #6

A highly original novel about 3 Ukrainian women on a road trip with some men they keep captive while Russia invades their country. Also, they are looking for a special kind of snail. I loved the fist half and the part which is an interlude by the author herself. Then however I lost interest a bit. So many super interesting story lines and yet I felt like nothing much happened. A so-so for me.

#ReadTheWorld2025 #28 #Albania

Well-written, informative, upsetting, and inspiring. A wonderful memoir.

#ReadtheWorld2025 #Afghanistan

#BookerLonglist #5

Very elegantly written, I became engaged in the book immediately I enjoyed following the narrator‘s struggle to live in NYC while she‘s still strongly rooted in the Albania she left behind. Het empathy for other refugees jeopardizes her mental wellbeing as well as her closest relationships. She moves between this empathy and self-preservation and there seems no closure. An impressive read.

#ReadTheWorld2025 #27 #Albania

Adding some new countries to #ReadTheWorld2025 in July and August: #NewZealand, #Finland, #Peru, #Pakistan, #SriLanka, #Hungary and #Sweden.

I now have covered 26 countries!

Wow, this is a what you call #NordicNoir! A fire and a murder in a small Swedish village continue to have effect on the village for years to come. A former police officer can‘t let go and neither does the nephew of the man convicted for the crimes.

In the mean time the book sketches a pretty good picture of the political and social circumstances of the country during the 90s and the 00s. ⬇️

#ReadTheWorld2025 #26 #Sweden

#BookerLonglist #3

I really liked Szalay‘s other books but I can‘t make much of this one.
István doesn‘t live his life, it just happens to him. He doesn‘t make choices or decisions. He just says okay to everything that is decided for him. There‘s just one time he does takes action, and it changes the course of his life. Yet it doesn‘t have any real impact on him or on me as a reader. So. Not very impressed.

And can someone explain the title?

Loved this book of poetry by Ghanaian poet Ama Asantewa Diaka. Composed of four parts, these poems are a mix of different poetic structures and themes. I especially enjoyed the ones the dove deeper into womanhood.

#ReadtheWorld2025 #Ghana

Set in a fictional Nursing Home in Sydney, this novel follows Sri Lankan immigrants Maya and Zakhir, who transformed the home into a sanctuary where “people will be valued.” Decades later, Maya is a resident, while Zakhir‘s disappearance remains unresolved. The flashbacks to war-torn Sri Lanka do complete the book.

Thanks for sending me this Carolyn🤍

#ReadTheWorld2025 #24 #SriLanka
#fictionaltraveler #someplacehot

#CharacterCharm Day 13: #TimeSpaceTraveler - i think being stuck in just one particular day in time qualifies. Still don‘t know how i feel about this little book. Qualifies too for #ReadTheWorld2025 - Denmark - translated from Danish.

I enjoyed this but it felt really long.

#ReadtheWorld2025 #Jamaica