What Else Are You Reading? - Part III

I follow Linda's good example and start a better-loading thread.....and I'm still reading The Towers of Trebizond and The Dervish House and Life with a Star.

Hi, Peggy! Yeah, I try to start a new thread when they get around 200 posts. I hear it's especially appreciated by folks who have dial-up.

Belva, I saw your post about Elizabeth Goudge. I've never read her books, but my SIL is a collector. She has almost all of her books, many of them in first edition. You might be interested in a fine book by one of my facorite histroical novelist, Jude Morgan. The King's Touch is also about Lucy and Charles (but goes into the second generation as well).

Barbara, The Good Soldier definitely makes my Top 10 list! I hope you enjoy it!

I know I read some Elizabeth Goudge back in my teens, but can't remember what. I think my grandmother really liked her, so in my mind she was for 'old ladies.' Perhaps I ought to try again.

So, miss_read, are you saying that 'now' you are an 'old lady'? hee hee

I will definitely look for The King's Touch. Sounds really good especially considering my fondness for Child From the Sea. Thanx Cariola.

hugs,

I think I've been an old lady for quite some time now!

(Just an aside - when I edited my message #3, it seemed to create a completely new message. Has this happened to anyone else?)

This morning I began reading Dimanche and Other Stories. I didn't like Suite Francaise much, but I'm willing to give Irene Nemirovsky another shot. Plus, it's a Persephone. :).

I too read a number of Elizabeth Goudge's books in HS -- I remember The Scent of Water was my favorite, but I can't recall a thing about it -- maybe it was the title that appealed to me.

Currently reading Crossing the Creek; The Literary Friendship of Zora Neale Hurston and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings -- fascinating; I Lock My Door Upon Myself by JCO, and The Essential Nawal El-Saadawi, an LTER.

I just finished reading Tomorrow by Elisabeth Russell Taylor. It seems there are only two copies, including mine, posted in the system. This is a beautiful and heart-rending novel. I posted a review of it and I mention this only because if anyone here reads the review and wants to read the book I will gladly send you my copy. This little novel (136 pages) should not disappear into the land of forgotten books.

Elaine

PS Picked it up at the Hyde Park book sale only because Taylor is a VMC author.

I am completely immersed in Vera Brittain's Testament of Youth. It is unbelievably moving and sad, and yet I can't put it down.

I'm reading Eat, Pray, Love which I have to say I'm not really liking that much as it seems rather self-indulgent, and The Big Budget For Girls which is a very fun book of short stories done by Blackie in the 1920s or 30s - a prize at a Methodist Sunday School in 1936 which I bought at the Methodist Book Sale!

11> That's been what I've generally heard about Eat, Pray, Love, which is why I've avoided it like the plague.

Today I started a new audiobook for my commute and workouts: The Vicar of Wakefield. It's one of those classics that I keep putting off, but so far, it's quite delightful.

I needed a non-fiction read, so I picked up The History of the Franks this afternoon. So far, so good.

12> Ditto for me, Cariola.

Kate Atkinson, Started Early, Took My Dog is 4th in the Jackson Brodie series - I think the 3rd is my favourite so far but this is pretty good too.

I finished a reread of Ballet Shoes last night and an Icelandic crime novel with a female protagonist this morning, and will probably finish rereading Mary Poppins soon. I've just bought an omnibus of the 6 Mary Poppins books but it's a huge paperback so not very portable.

elkiedee, I really like Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie books! Knowing her as the author of Behind the Scenes at the Museum, etc. I was a bit wary at first of reading these, but they're fantastic!

I've just begun George Eliot In Love by Brenda Maddox.

18> That's next up for me, as soon as I finish my last LT ER book. Reviews haven't been too favorable so far, but it sounded interesting to me.

I am bored silly, but feel compelled to finish it since it is an Early Review copy.
I'm trying to read 30 pages at a time before I find an excuse to put it down, like dust the light bulbs in the utility closet. It's not a bad book, just a dull one.

Just finishing up A stranger on earth: the life and work of Anna Kavan. Kavan was a heroin addict for most of her adult life, she resisted biography, destroying her journals so there are some sizeable gaps in the narrative as well as questionable conclusions drawn by the author, but overall quite an interesting read. I've only read a novella and some short stories of Kavan but this biography has piqued my interest to look out for more of her work

#18-20: I just posted a good review of George Eliot in Love, but I'm a shill for Early Reviewers.:-) Actually, I found it a quick and easy read, and a good basic introduction to George Eliot's life. I read it in two sittings.

Tonight I'm going to start a re-read of The Mysterious Affair at Styles, which I haven't read since I was a teenager.

Elaine wrote that she was finding excuses not to read more of her Eliot book "like dust the light bulbs in the utility closet. It's not a bad book, just a dull one." Too funny! I don't think that qualifies for damning with faint praise, but you wrote a respectful review which I appreciated. Now I'm off to see what Mr. Hardy had to say about it.

Yes Elaine, that made me laugh too.

Helen - let me know what you think of Styles. About 5 years ago I began re-reading all of Christie and some of them absolutely suck. But some are so good they should be preserved forever. For me her novels between about 1927 and 1945 are the absolute best she ever did. It's like - before 1927 she wrote the books herself, then post 1927 until the end of the Second World War she tapped into The Muse. Then lost it again during the 50s-70s. I read almost all of her books as a teen and coming back to them as a near 60 year old I see them as so much more than mysteries. Her insight into what makes people tick just blows me away as an older person.

Barbara, that's exactly how I was as a teen. I *raced* through nearly the entire Christie collection without really reading them as anything more than mysteries. I'm reading Styles for my book group (chosen by someone who's never read any Christie and wanted to start at the beginning), so I'm not sure if I'll read any others at the moment, although I did pick up Roger Ackroyd a few years ago and really loved it.

I have The Mysterious Affair at Styles on my TBR pile. I didn't read any Agatha Christie as a teen (when all my friends were reading her) but a couple of years ago read through the Miss Marple books as I'd seen TV adaptations and liked them. I haven't watched much Poirot but I like to read series (so that if I like it ther's lots more to come) so I thought I'd start on him. I like the between wars era too.

I've not read much Agatha Christie at all, but then mysteried have never really appealed to me. I've recently started reading the Sherlock Holmes books though, so perhaps I should go back and give them a try.

I'm slogging my way through Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett at the moment. So far I don't think it's particularly good and unless the writing alters considerably in the remainder of the book that opinion is unlikely to change. Still, it seems I'm in the minority with that opinion. Because that book is a bit of a brick I'm also reading Fireworks by Angela Carter as it's nice and small and easy to read one-handed on the tube. I'm enjoying that one far more.

Ygraine, I am with you on Pillars of the Earth. I read it when it came out originally, but it was definitely a slog. I also think it's telling that a medievalist and a medievalist wannabe didn't particularly care for it.
I'm announcing that I am quite crazy. I'm giving up. I'm going to start The Lacuna which I don't have time for now. I just can't help it. So there.
(And I also read the Christies as a child and teen and go back to the early ones time after time after time. Since I haven't read one this year, I need to put something at the top of Mt. Bookpile, maybe a Tommy and Tuppence.)

I didn't read any Agatha Christie when I was a teen and only came to the books (with the exception of Murder on the Orient Express which was chosen for a book club) after becoming obsessed with the David Suchet Poirot series. Now I really like to read them when I go on holiday and match my reading to my destination if at all possible.

An occasional mystery reader, this group does make many of them sound so cozy and fun, and Suchet is quite a pleasing Poirot.

The recent David Suchet Murder on the Orient Express was brilliant, Heather. Did you watch it? I loved the interview afterward as he took the train as 'himself'.

Peggy, I've got The Lacuna in queue - glad you're taking the plunge!! Presently, I'm in the middle of the ARC of Kate Morton's The Distant Hours.

Oh, I did, I did! Yes, very well done. I ordered the latest collection in the series and am very very patiently saving Hallowe'en Party for Halloween of course!

For some reason (although I love David Suchet's Poirot) I never really warmed to Agatha Christie. But Dorothy Sayers is another story. The Nine Tailors, which I read out loud to my wife years ago, is one of my most memorable reading experiences ever. I may have to read it again, but not before I finish tonight's assignment, which is to read Tennessee Williams' Summer and Smoke.

I just finished reading Diderot's The Nun reviewed here and at Club Balzac and rereading Silence: A Thirteenth-Century French Romance. Every true Virago should read Silence. I have also reviewed it a Club Balzac.

Mary, I've been following Club Balzac and it is quite clever, original and most impressive. I'll be adding Silence: A romance to my library. Thank you!

Interesting; all this chat about Agatha Christie, whom I just could never get into at any age. I just found her books boring. But I am certain that I am a minority as her works have very well stood the test of time.
On the other hand I loved The Pillars of the Earth and scrambled right through it. No slogging for me there. Just goes to show there is no accounting for taste. LOL!~!

#33 - Rob, Dorothy Sayers is indeed wonderful, as is Margery Allingham, though I think my favourite of all is Josephine Tey.

It's a bit off-putting that, as I'm reading Styles, I can't get the image of David Suchet out of my head! I do like him on television, but I don't like being unable to separate the actor from the character when I'm reading. And I can't remember how I pictured Poirot when I read Agatha Christie in the pre-Suchet days.

Read Miss or Mrs.?, The Haunted Hotel, The Guilty River three novellas by Wilkie Collins last week. Currently reading The Horse's Mouth by Joyce Cary. Of course I have seen and loved the film with Alec Guinness.

>37 miss_read: Helen, that's a very interesting comment about Suchet and Poirot. I can't remember how he used to look in my mind either, and I sort of resent the fact.
And, Christine, The Horse's Mouth is a great remembered favorite, but I can never remember to read the others in the trilogy. A project for 2011!

One of the interesting things about reading Testament of Youth is that Vera Brittain was a contemporary of many Virago authors. For example she shared a flat with Winifred Holtby and became friends with Rebecca West. I would not have appreciated the significance of these connections were it not for this group!!

And there are references to Rose Macaulay as another student at Oxford in Testament as well.

Does that mean I need to reread The Testament of Youth? (Please say no, I remember it being a very long slog.) I read it before I knew I was reading a virago, what virago books meant, and long before I read any others.

>41 elkiedee:: yes, that's right. After I posted #40 I returned to reading and her name came up (not for the first time). I thought to myself, "oh, I forgot to mention her!" but didn't come back here to correct.
>42 ms.hjelliot:: it is certainly a long book (my edition is 660 pages). I am absolutely loving it, it's very moving, and I would recommend it to anyone. But if you've already read it ... well ... I hardly ever re-read books so I probably wouldn't suggest that! There, you're off the hook.

I am two chapters into Little Bee which is so far brilliant.

For a change of pace, I am reading The Piccadillly Murder by Anthony Berkeley in one of those wonderful Dover editions that are meant to last forever.

44> I really enjoyed (well, maybe an odd word for this one) Little Bee.

Tonight I finished Serious Men by Manu Joseph, a really clever Indian novel that comments on the caste system while poking fun at the business of science. The main character, Ayyan Mani, is a real original.

I'm listening to the audio version of Trespass by Rose Tremain.

I'm not reading this one yet, but I just had to share this link with you. I am usually not a big fan of art or nature books, but these photographs are just astoundingly beautiful, not to mention surprising. The book is going on my Christmas list (and I wish the calendar and bookmark were available in the US). Do click the link to his website, where you'll find lots more.

WOW Deb, it is magnificent! Needless to say that the book went immediately on my wish list.

I finished The Towers of Trebizond and I'm a bit pole-axed. I don't dislike it, but I had assumed that I'd love it. For some reason, I thought it would be something like I Capture the Castle. It most emphatically is not!

I have a wretched cold so I can't manage anything that demands any thinking! So after finishing The Piccadilly Murder by Anthony Berkeley I began Unpunished by Virago author Charlotte Perkins Gilman. It is her only mystery and on the surface a typical Golden Age offering. But since Gilman is a pioneer feminist, there are some interesting twists. Since it is published by The Feminist Press CUNY, there is a marvelous Afterword.

By the way, if anyone wants either of these books before I post them on Paperback Swap, please let me know and they are yours.

edited to add: Did I say that Unpunished didn't demand any thinking? Oh my, was I wrong!

#50> if anyone wants either of these books before I post them on Paperback Swap, please let me know and they are yours

I hope I don't sound greedy, but I would like Unpunished VERY MUCH!!
:-))

Wonderful! Why don't I have your address!!!! Please pm it and I should have the Gilman in the mail by the end of the week. I just love these Feminist Press editions.

Elaine

Peg I felt that way about Told by an Idiot which my friend said was the best Macaulay. I was like, huh? So I put off reading The Towers of Trebizond for years but when I did I absolutely loved it. I don't know if it helped that I had back packed some of the places in Turkey she mentions but I was spellbound. But as I always point out on these occasions I hate you know who (who won the Nobel Prize and is black) so there's no accounting for tastes.

I've been waiting for my copy of D.E. Stevenson's The Four Graces in the post, but it hasn't come yet, so I've started on Rich Desserts and Captain's Thin (touchstone not working) by Margaret Forster.

I've finally finished the medieval monstrosity that was Pillars of the Earth and have picked up The Lollipop Shoes (published as 'The Girl with No Shadow in the US) by Joanne Harris. She's one of my go-to authors when I want to read something I'm certain of enjoying, so hopefully this one won't disappoint.

@55, Joanne Harris's Sleep Pale Sister is a great one too! A little 'Charles Dodgson meets Alice meets the Pre-Raphaelites'.

Having just finished several Viragos, including the two most recent ones; A Woman of My Age & A Nice Change, both by Nina Bawden, (the first I was so not taken with, the second I enjoyed), I have decided to move on to The Witch's House by Charlotte Armstrong. I have not read her before nor do I often do mysteries so I am hoping to have found a new author, (I have read some really good things about her from other authors), and that I will enjoy a little mystery. So far (about 80 pages in), I am spell-bound! No wonder some people find mysteries cozy reads.
Hope all of you are reading 'Good Reads'.
hugs,

Still with the rotten cold, so I'm on my third mystery. Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin. It's a medieval mystery and some of Chaucer's pilgrims are in it. I think it will be a fun read.

Elaine,
Are you a mystery buff when you need cuddling and cozying? If so..........since I am enjoying this one, now I know who to run to for rex. ;-)
gentle hugs & Grandmother's homemade chicken soup to make you feel all 'bedder',
belva

I used to read mysteries almost exclusively. Among my nutty lists were every book written by Christie, Marsh, Allingham, Miss Silver, Nancy Drew(!!!!), Dickson/Carr and his alter-ego Carr/Dickson, not to mention the modern ones like George, Peters (both of them), Perry etc etc etc. Then I got into police procedurals with Marric, McBain, etc.

I've kind of given that up and got rid of the collection except for all of Christie, Nancy Drew (!!!), Sayers, Kaminsky, Perry, Marric and singles favorite like Marsh's Death of a Fool.

But when I am sick I retreat under the electric blanket with a mystery and a cup of Twinings lemon/ginger tea laced with honey. Last time I think I read seven Judge Dee mysteries.

Maybe we should start a threat called "Comfort Reads" or "Guilty Pleasures"!

Elaine

PS Husband does all the cooking and he is plying me with wonderful soups, including a pea soup with smoked ham hocks so I can chew on the bones!

Elaine, I have greatly enjoyed Mistress of the Art of Death and the following ones I have read. I hope you like it.

What! No Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine! I think she is quite the best and has been for the last 20 years. The first I ever read by her was called The Face of Trespass, in which a shy young man lives alone in a cottage on the edge of Epping Forest, trying to resist his former lover's attempts to get him to murder her husband. There is a scene with a dog in that book that was one of the most realistic animal scenes I have ever read. But she also lists everything the young man reads in his isolation, which I found absolutely fascinating.

I'm reading Barbara Pym right now. I can't believe I've never ever read her work before. I read An Academic Question and now have moved on to Quartet in Autumn thanks to my local library. Gorgeous writing and characterization. I have a feeling I'm going to have to track down every one of her books, and am pleased to find that Virago publishes several of them now.

Yep! I used to own all of Rendell/Vine. I still prefer her older novels. I think my favorite, and I don't remember the title right now, was the one about the housekeeper who couldn't read. Absolutely heart-breaking and chilling.

I actually met her once at a local book signing We were staying in a village near her home in Epping Forest and she was signing books which she had donated to the fund raiser for the village church. The books were gone by the time I got to the head of the line, but we did have a brief chat.

>63 outrageoussocks:: yay! Isn't she wonderful? I started with Excellent Women and was hooked.

63> I just discovered her a little over a year ago. My favorites so far are No Fond Return of Love and Jane and Prudence. (I'm stretching them out to extend the pleasure.)

(Re) reading Middlemarch in a lovely group read.....

My favorite of the Wexford novels is Simisola but I also love the older Wexfords. I've never done the Judge Dees but I do remember you and Paola discussing them before. The rest I've dipped into or even read entirely, including the Marric and McBains. Anne Perry's personal life put me off reading her.

WOW!~! A wealth of knowledge in the mystery genre on the Virago site. I love this group more and more all the time!
Am absolutely loving this mystery I am reading now; The Witch's House and I think it has brought my reading mojo back. I have only read a few books each month the past few months. But the way I am tearing through this mystery, I am 'on the road again'.
Good reads guys,
belva

Oooh, I love Ruth Rendell / Barbara Vine too! Although I agree that her earlier works were much better. I haven't had much luck reading her recent books. And I met her at a signing too! She gets around! Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, etc. are all delicious, but nobody can touch Josephine Tey in my opinion. The Singing Sands is absolutely gorgeous.

Well, you must be a knitter, too. Would you like to have all the Barbara Pym's? I have them. Maybe we can work something out. Let me know. -Mary

Sorry, that last post was supposed to a reply to "outrageousocks". I'll get the hang of this thing pretty soon. -Mary

Loved Josephine Tey's Brat Farrar. But I think that is the only work of hers that I have read. I will have to seek out more.

>73 rainpebble: - Read The Franchise Affair too!

>71 manyknits: - Mary, perhaps we should start a thread for Virago knitters! I'm just learning, but am now completely hooked! (wait ... that would be more appropriate for crochet, wouldn't it?) ;)

Yes Belva - The Franchise Affair and Daughter of Time. What a treat awaits you my dear! I'm excited for you. The first couple including The Man in the Queue and A Shilling for Candles are her weakest, in my view but by the Forties and Fifties she was totally on her game.

>73 rainpebble:, 74,75 AGREED!
When first I joined this amazing group, I think that there was a knitting room hosted by Mother Urania. We could take that over, couldn't we?

Uh, uh LizzieD; I don't know if I would be wanting to take anything over of Mother Urania's. You might find yourself in the Naughty Room and we would, have to, musts try to rescue you and, an, n that scares me.

Oh, Daughter of Time! I joined the Richard III Society on the basis of that books!

Well, I'm brand-new here and have very elementary computer skills, so someone else will have to start it, but since knitting and reading (and cats) seem to be obligatory partners (and tea, I forgot tea), we maybe should have a sub-Virago/Persephone group for them...uh...us.

I think I really like you manyknits (although I do not knit). There is a Persephone group here and it is a nice group as well. I don't find it nearly as active as this one but mrspenny is very active on both, I believe.
A sub-group might be nice.

#80 - rainpebble - How can I not respond to such a remark? I think I really like you, too, even if you don't knit. (We'll have to correct that for you to become one of the truly Wonderful Among Us.) I've had a welcome from mrspenny and understand she's the ranking member of the VMC collectors. I once had 263 titles, just to put my bid in for The Great One. Deborah/Cariola, having been the recipient of my largess, tells me she now has 350. At the rate I'm relinquishing mine, I won't qualify for this group before long. You are all such nice people here, and you read such quality literature as well. If one reads well, loves cats and has a sense of humor, she (he) is a Superior Person, no doubt. -Mary

I'm reading a superb meditation on silence right now:
A Book of Silence by Sara Maitland
Not too far in but loving it so far.

ETA: most of you know I am mad about Pym, so much so that I ordered as many of hers in the beautiful Moyer Bell publications, despite having her whole collection already. And I knit socks!

I'm a cat owned, tea drinking, virago reading, persephone reading, NON KNITTER... I've tried and tried to knit, I have actually knitted but only under supervision. I can also make curtains and embroider / cross-stitch. But not knitting.

Anyway - I'm reading Feet of Clay by Ffyona Campbell which is about a slightly unlikeable lady walking up Africa (and might not be called that - I am upstairs at the top of the house, it is downstairs at the very bottom of the house) and a book about portrayals of Merlin from the first oral pieces through to the 20th century. And Agatha Raisin And The Day The Floods Came for light relief.

@83>> "a book about portrayals of Merlin from the first oral pieces through to the 20th century"

Sounds interesting, LyzzyBee. What's the title?

I'm reading The Atmospheric Railway: New and Selected Stories by Shena Mackay, whose early books have been reprinted by Virago. There's some weird and some quite wonderful stories, and it's made me think it's ages since I first, or last, read her work.

@84 Oh dear - it was in the middle of the house when I was posting that and I couldn't remember... oh, but, I'm at work now (just setting up to start my day...) so I'll look at my loans

Knight, Stephen Thomas . - Merlin : knowledge and power through the ages / Stephen Knight . - Ithaca, N.Y. : Cornell University Press, 2009 . - 0801443652

Hooray for libraries!

I finished the Joanne Harris,which was lovely and just what I needed, then read Stardust by Neil Gaiman on the train back home. I've now started The High Lord by Trudi Canavan which is the last book in a fantasy trilogy. I wasn't intending to read it just yet, but I leant the first two books to my fiance and, having devoured those, he now insists I read the final one so that he can have it after me. Demanding chap!

>76 LizzieD: and 77,

There is a knitting room, but Trust me. You wouldn't like it very much. I suggest you read Cynthia Ozick's Trust instead. It is quite long (your penance) but well worth the time.

For those of you who have skipped chapel this week, there will be a pop quiz over at Club Balzac. Please go in, take the quiz, and exit immediately. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT look at the naughty pictures or try to go to the main blog site. I have directed you to the specific entry you need. Stay there.

Sincerely
Mother Urania

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie which is fabulous, just fabulous.

I just read The Good Soldier which got put aside while I read something I had to return to the library.

I'd put off reading The Good Soldier because of the portrait painted by Jean Rhys in Quartet of Ford Madox Ford. Not that I thought highly of Jean Rhys after initially seeing the movie version of that. For those who have never read the book or seen the movie - Jean Rhys, falling on hard times in 1920s Paris, moves in with FMF and his long suffering wife, and in order to keep this cushy billet is forced to endure sex with FMF. I remember coming out of the movie with a friend who said caustically, "Why didn't she just get a JOB!?"

I did eventually read Wide Sargasso Sea and loved it and now I have to say that The Good Soldier is an exceptionally fine novel. In fact it is an almost perfect novel. 'Almost' because all 4 of the main characters are pretty horrible and, frankly, one cannot give a damn what happens to any of them but, oh, what a beautifully written book.

Given FMF's unsavory reputation with women and given that he was himself an adulterer, he presents a remarkably honest picture of a serial adulterer and the negative effect of his affairs, both on the lovers themselves and, sadly, their unfortunate partners. Given that the book was written almost a hundred years ago it pulls no punches at all and I must wonder if it was considered scandalous at the time.

As an intellectual read it was definitely a perfect 10.

#90 I'll definitely put that on my list. I knew that FMF collaborated with Joseph Conrad on a couple of novels, and was a correspondent and encourager of the American novelist Caroline Gordon, but I didn't know any of the sordid details.

Meanwhile, I'm reading George Eliot's fabulous last novel Daniel Deronda.

I've just psyched myself up to start Margaret Thatcher's The Downing Street Years - I've been reading lots of other modern political history and memoirs, and have even approached other Tories via their memoirs, but the great monolith of Thatcher has been sitting on the TBR shelf daring me...

91> Oh, I love Daniel Deronda! There's a pretty good Brit TV adaptation, too, with high Dancy, Romola Garai, and Jodhe May.

#93: "Pretty good" will suffice, if it provides one with the opportunity to look at Romola Garai.

(She was, incidentally, named after another George Eliot novel.)

Um "high" should be "Hugh." RG is very good as Gwendolyn (and you'll find she looks quite fine in a 19th-century riding costume!). I had the good luck to see her in a great play (Calico) in London a few years back; she played James Joyce's daughter, who in the period in which it was set was in love with his secretary, Samuel Beckett.

I saw her at the RSC in Stratford in McKellen's "King Lear" and in "The Seagull." She's not as good on stage as she is in film; she herself jas admitted, I think, that her voice is rather weak, and not well suited for projecting in a large theatre.

Vivien Leigh had that same problem...and she preferred the stage to film.

Cate's remembrance of Renee Vivien has prompted me to get Portrait of a Seductress The World of Natalie Barney off the shelf. The translation from the French is fairly smooth, so far.

I've finished reading it but recently read Nella Last's War - fascinating stuff, and highly recommended to anyone who enjoys reading the fiction of the period. Will get to the second volume of her selected diaries soon, and will definitely be buying the 3rd.

I just re-read The Wind in the Willows.

#100 Me too!

Heather, did you react differently when reading it as an adult? I loved it as much as I did before (or more), but I did find myself questioning all sorts of things that never crossed my mind when I was 5. For instance, how big is Toad?? How could he pass as a washerwoman? And why did all the animals live in burrows, holes and trees ... but Toad had a real house?? And how could he possibly drive a motorcar?? Oh, to recapture the innocence of childhood!

Now I'm reading Spring Magic by D.E. Stevenson.

What's Spring Magic about, and is it your own copy or a library book? How does it compare with any other DES books you might have read? Just wondering as I've read the first two Miss Buncle books and the first two Mrs Tim books (the second came from a library reservation where I was expecting to get the first).

I'm not very far in yet, so I can't really give a full review! So far, it's about a young woman who leaves London to go to a small Scottish village. Apparently, Miss B makes an appearance!

It is my own copy - bought on either Amazon or Abe Books (can't remember which). I've read both Buncles, but not the Mrs Tim books, though they're on my wish list!

#104 Do try searching for Dorothy Emily Stevenson on the Cornish Libraries website one of these days. Forty one items, mostly in reserve stock!!

Oh, thanks for that! I'll have a look! :)

>99 elkiedee: I am reading Nella Last's Peace. It is wonderful.

I finished reviewing Merry Hall at LT and at Club Balzac. Fellow LTer DavidX has a lovely post on Sappho there as well. And for all those who follow the wild and wacky adventures of urania, Beloved, and the extended Mucus clan, the latest edition of the Dark Tea Times is out.

Have just started reading The Mystery of Mrs Blencarrow by Mrs Oliphant - my first Persephone.

>105 BeyondEdenRock:: no such luck in Canada...I have to scrounge through the internet trying to find them. Must hunt for that Spring Magic. And so good to see you, Fleur!

Mary, Beverly Nichols is one of my Guilty Pleasures.

Tonight as my son and I munched pizza I finished Passenger to Teheran by Vita Sackville-West. For some reason that I am at a loss to explain I finished it almost in tears. It is her account of traveling out to stay with her husband who was part of the British Legation in the mid-1920s. Persia did not seem like a nice place to be at all, and yet... something tugged at my heart strings and I was sorry to leave when Ms Sackville-West headed off to Russia and then home to England.

I am also about halfway through the first book March Violets in Philip Kerr's Berlin Noir trilogy. A Chandler style thriller set in the 1930s Third Reich. So far a little OTT because of its overly clever style but excellent historically. I've never been to Teheran but I have been to Berlin in the 70s and absolutely loved it. Kerr's research is excellent and he has me totally hooked. It remains to be seen, however, whether it succeeds as a who-dun-it.

>109 tiffin: tiffin,
I adore Beverley Nichols and don't feel one bit guilty about it. I accidentally happened upon him in my favorite used bookstore "The Book Eddy: Not Your Mainstream Bookstore." I bought Merry Hall because I liked the cover and the end papers--not exactly the best reason to buy a book. I must have had my head stuck in a hole for my entire reading life not to have run across any of his work before now. All Viragoes should read him. I introduced Beloved to his work (Beloved is not a great reader) and he has now read all four of the Nichols books I own. I know what he's getting for Christmas. And . . . by the way to all those Kindle-haters, although many of Nichols' books are on Kindle, I am buying only first editions of his work in hardback. I hope you're satisfied Paola.

To while away the time, I am reading Balzac's Ursule Mirouet. I am worried. Ursule is one of those saintly orphan children like Little Nell in The Old Curiosity Shop or Eppie in Silas Marner. She has a loving godfather who took her in as a baby but is now quite old. And to make matters worse, a whole cast of villainous characters--all relatives of Ursule's godfather--are hanging around and plotting to get his money. Things don't look good for Ursule. Saintly children often have a bad time of it in novels. I must have been extra saintly child.

I've adopted quite a collection of Beverley Nichols books, but haven't read any of them. Where should I start? I have: Death to Slow Music, Women and Children Last, The Moonflower, Merry Hall, Laughter on the Stairs and The Thatched Roof.

#111> YES!!!!! I am satisfied, Mary!!!!!
I also have a few of his books, but have read none to date. By reading your enthusiastic endorsement I am convinced I have to read them, and soon.

I finished Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky this morning on the bus to work (tube strike day) and am contining to read Miss Ranskill Comes Home by Barbara Euphan Todd (previously known by me as the author of Worzel Gummidge. I posted a reading challenge to read books set during WWI and WWII, and several other people read the Todd and recommended it. Sadly I never got to any WWI books this month but I also read The Great Fortune, the first book in The Balkan Trilogy by Olivia Manning.

Suite Francaise is set in Occupied France and also contains some correspondence following her deportation to a concentration camp (she died in Auschwitz in August 1942).

Miss Ranskill has been stranded on a desert island for years and had no contact with the news, and finds wartime Britain very strange, as well as practically difficult, eg she has no ration book, and is given money to buy clothes and food but finds it impossible. The book is a Persephone reprint.

I would start with Merry Hall.

I'm reading a book by an author who isn't a Virago author, but should be: DE Stevenson, in particular one of her older, out-of-print titles, Amberwell.

>115 urania1: - Thanks, Mary! I'll put it on the top of my pile!

>116 Kasthu: - Let me know what it's like, Kasthu! I own Amberwell but haven't read it.

I am very excited. I missed my last R/L B/C; literally called in my review. LOL!~! But the book they chose for December is a Virago that I have had for eons, but never read. They chose "Charms for the Easy Life" by Kaye Gibbons. Other than for my B/C I have been reading only Viragos for several months; perhaps since August. Not reading a lot, but it has been good.
hugs to all,
belva

I am reading a dreadfully depressing book by Romanian author Norman Manea entitled The Black Envelope.

On my Kindle, I'm finally getting around to a re-read of Charlotte Bronte's Shirley, which I haven't read in ages, and in treeware I'm finally getting around to Dudley Green's Patrick Bronte: Father of Genius.

I'm trying to finish books I started this past year and put aside. Far Cry from Kensington by Sparks, one of Alec Guinnesses's memoirs, a Judge Dee, The House by Theresa Waugh, and A Hopeless Romantic by Harriet Evans. The Evans might just go right into the trash if I can't get past the next ten pages.

I would have given up on the Waugh, Elaine, had I not continued to hope it would get better. I'm currently reading Lavinia by U. Le Guin, and liking it a lot. Middlemarch continues to instruct and amuse, I've just begun The Children's Book, and I have various other things that I pick up and put down at will including my ARC from ER, Book Lust to Go - not meant to be read straight through, I don't think.

I second what Peggy just said, about The House by Theresa Waugh. It was a very disappointed read.
I loved A Far Cry from Kensington, and have enjoyed all the Judge Dee I have read so far.

Peggy, The Children's Book is marvelous. Enjoy!

I am reading Sonya Tolstoy's diaries. Wow! Wow! Wow!

Since December has arrived I've started on my Christmas reading. So far I'm reading a chapter a day of The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder, listening to Anton Lesser read A Christmas Carol plus I have a Virago Christmas anthology to dip into. Other annual treats are often a few Christmassy chapters rather than complete volumes, which I will get out nearer the time.

I'm sure I posted a month ago that I was reading Middlemarch. Guess what? I am still reading Middlemarch though I am, close, if not in, the home stretch. An amazing book. This time around I am very aware too that Angela Thirkell pays constant homage to Eliot in her fiction, Trollope too, but Eliot for a certain domestic lightness and wit. She writes about watching babies have their baths, that kind of thing.

Oh dear, I'm reading The Downing Street Years still and I'm only on about p. 70... I do need to face up to Thatcher as have been reading a lot of recent political and social history recently, but it's hard to sit down to it.

Loving my current Iris Murdoch A (2) Month (s) The Book and the Brotherhood and enjoying Bluestockings which is about the first women to get into Higher Education in the UK.

I've just finished reading The Squirrel-Cage, Dorothy Canfield's first novel published in 1912. An ebook from Project Gutenberg. While not as wonderful as The Brimming Cup or some others, still a fascinating story full of her ideas on living a full, satisfying life outside the social norms of those times. My main complaint is of the usual ethnic and racial stereotypes that are too common in a book of this age.

>112 miss_read:: I'd read them in order of publication because there is a progression to them, especially when he's in the same house for several books.

ETA: loved Far Cry from Kensington too. Think I wrote a review of it some time ago...

Re - Beverley Nichols - I have never read his books but grew up reading his column in Woman's Own. I had no idea till now that he was anything other than a magazine journalist.

Barbara, he was the sole support for both of his parents who had very serious financial losses and then his brother, his brother's wife and their son who had health issues, when they had financial hardship. He was, apparently, very quiet about this. So when his first books became very successful, he continued to write them as they provided the finances he needed for all of this. They are being reissued in lovely editions by Timber Press.

I'm reading Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm for one of my book clubs. Has anyone else read it? I have to admit that I'm rather loathing it and am dying to get back to D.E. Stevenson!

I read it on the recommendation of a friend. I must admit I didn't think it was as funny as she claimed it was.

I'm also reading The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder as a chocolate-free alternative to an Advent calendar. My parents used to read it to me and my sister when we were little and I'm enjoying rediscovering it.

I've also just started Baudolino by Umberto Eco. I was given it ages ago by a friend clearing off some bookshelves and then I was loaned it again by a colleague a few months ago so I decided I should probably take the hint and read it. It's proving to be a good decision so far as it's ever so funny.

I'm reading Highsmith: a romance of the 1950s a memoir by Marijane Meaker it's about Meaker's two year relationship with Patricia Highsmith, interesting stuff about New York in the 1950s with many restaurants not allowing women dressed in trousers to dine.

Oooh, the Marijane Meaker book sounds fascinating! I've just finished Spring Magic and have now started on The Four Graces. I'm on a bit of a Stevenson jag.

I've read almost all of Highsmith's, my personal favorite being Ripley's Game which is definitely in my top 20 books of all time. The Wim Wender movie with (I think) Dennis Hopper was a great movie but Hopper was not anything like the 'real' Tom Ripley. Some of her others are equally brilliant but it was this one that blew me away. I find her an interesting person but don't know when I'll ever have the time for a biog.

I picked up The lost diaries of Adrian Mole 1999 - 2001 from the library this evening and started reading on the tram ride home. I'm 48 and have loved Adrian since he was 13 and 3/4 and all I can say is that the love affair continues.

I love Adrian Mole - I'm 41 (and nearly 1/2), 15 months younger than Adrian who was born in March 1968. I thought the latest was a great read, and was interested to read some of Sue Townsend's thoughts on him, I think she's become fonder of her creation than she was to start with.

I have decided to put the Viragos aside and do a bit of Christmas reading. Last year I read The Virago Book of Christmas and enjoyed it greatly. This year I am reading Louisa May Alcott's Christmas Treasury. I have just begun and am hoping that I can relax and just sink into it and enjoy the happiness and harmony I know that I will find inside the covers.
hugs,
belva

I'm just reviewing the books I galloped through when I was poorly through the week - all will appear at http://lyzzybee.livejournal.com in the next 45 mins or so. Mainly fiction, mainly YA/children's - might be interesting to see what one of us comfort-reads!!

It is interesting to look at your comfort reading, Ms. Bee! I also note that you concur in thinking The Book and the Brotherhood one of IM's best, if not the best. Hope you're feeling 100%

Thank you, Ms. D! Yes, I did LOVE re-reading The Book and the Brotherhood - I think Philosopher's Pupil is still my absolute best, but that is next. Feeling lots better now, thanks (back on my mrs Thatcher book now!) and hoping to get to the gym tomorrow!

Rather you than me with the Thatcher book!

I know, I know - but I've been reading a lot of contemporary history, biographies, autobiographies etc and it seemed I had to face up to Her... The Downing Street Years is interesting to read right now actually, with Conservatives just in power, a recession, public sector cuts... but it is quite hard going and I have to be sure to have something else to read at the same time!

Just finished Susan Hill's Howards End Is on the Landing. It took me 20 pages before the penny dropped and I realized that I have met Susan several times in Stratford. (I guess I can't criticize her for name-dropping!) I think the deep freeze is working into my brain!

It is a fun read, very personal and I enjoyed it immensely. I'll get a review up this weekend. I hope I do as good a job as LyzzyBee, Kasthu, and Elkiedee. This is one books that has gotten really thoughtful reviews on Librarything.

I read Howards End is on the Landing earlier this year though I was a bit disappointed by it, worth reading though. Susan Hill is on Twitter (and quite active, interestingly, despite her criticism of people using the internet in the book) and we exchange Tweets occasionally, but I also eavesdrop on her exchanges with other writers there. She's one of the Man Booker judges next year.

Your review of Howard's End is really wonderful and I agree with every point you made. It would have been more politic if she just didn't mention that she didn't care to read Canadian or Australian/New Zealand authors during this year. Her criticism of Kindle and the internet is so much like that of a few friends I have I wasn't surprised.

I would love to just read or reread my library, but I still can't stop myself from buying books!

Elaine;
You are just so weak. LOL!~!
hugs,

I am listening to an audio of Past Imperfect by Julian Fellowes which is a gossipy, bitchy novel about the 1968 Deb season in London. An airport read but I am not above enjoying a good airport read.

Barbara;
That sounds like a fun read. I just may have to find that one.
big hug,

I'm just finishing Susan Cooper'sThe Dark Is Rising, a wonderful Christmas read. Now I'm off to watch the Bears slide all over the field with the Vikings. The weather here in Chicago is frightful, too.

Thank you for your compliment, but I'm sure you'll write a great review if you haven't already... I'll check tomorrow.

And the Bears and Vikings are indeed sliding all over the field.
Hey Elaine; who ya rooting for, eh? hee hee
big hug,

Flew through the first three books of Her Royal Spyness series and have started Mary Stewart's Thornyhold. Just perfect for these dark and stormy evenings on the coast!

Shhhhh......(actually, I'm a Packers fan)

E

#155> Cate, you have prompted me to look into Her Royal Spyness series. I loved Thornyhold!!!!

Paola, they're charming and perfect for that long train commute. Sort of like a bag of crisps, you can't read only one!!

#152> The Dark is Rising is perfect for Christmas, isn't it? I like to read it at this time of year. I've read two other wonderful children's books this Christmas:- Come Back Lucy by Pamela Sykes and Cold Christmas by Nina Beachcroft. Both have a Christmas setting and feature a shy young female protagonist and a ghost. Would recommend either at any time but especially Christmas!

Come back, Lucy was a particular treat as I loved it as a child but never owned it. I borrowed if from my Nana's library every time we visited her in Devon. I hadn't been able to remember the title or author but was helped this year by someone on the LT book tracing thread. Amazingly, I loved the book just as much at 42 as I did at 12-possibly more!

I love Come Back, Lucy but was shocked by how much it sells for secondhand now, though it's a bit cheaper under the US title. Did you buy it? I have Nina Beachcroft's books but they're on a high shelf above the cot in our bedroom, so I can't check whether Cold Christmas is there. Fortunately I still have my copy of Come Back Lucy but I don't dare take it home with me for Christmas. There is a sequel which is even more expensive which I read but maybe I never had my own. I'd forgotten the Christmas setting of that and The Dark is Rising - I recently read The Children of Green Knowe which includes Christmas, I have two of the others, which are much more affordable in secondhand Puffin.

I think I was lucky when I bought my copy of Come Back Lucy in March. I found one reasonably priced ex-library paperback alongside the much pricier copies. I looked again recently thinking I might treat myself to a hardback edition but changed my mind when I saw the prices. And as for the sequel! I would love to read that but probably never will- unless I get VERY lucky at a car boot sale or something. It's such a shame as Come Back Lucy is a wonderful book but probably too "dated" to be re-published.

I recently received a copy of The Children of Green Knowe as a RISI swap but haven't read it. Maybe I'll try that next!

I've just started Mrs Tim. I love it.

Wanted to mention that I recently read a bio of Mary Kingsley by Olwen Campbell that was a great intro to Mary -- I do see there are other more recent bios of her (probably dig deeper) but Campbell did a fine job I thought. I know Kingsley's West Africa book is huge and a bit overwhelming and I think this would be a great place to start. Book is probably impossible to find though, I stumbled upon it in a used bookshop. Gave it to the intrepid LizzieD for Christmas, feeling very clever indeed! Oh, the title is Mary Kingsley: A Victorian in the Jungle. The photos are incredible. She went into the bush in full Victorian garb.

I'm reading The blue hour: a life of Jean Rhys. I've long been fascinated by Rhys, she seemed so fragile as though the ways of the world were too much for her and yet I think in the end she proved to be a tough old bird. I love her writing and this bio is making me want to go back and read the stories again as so many of them are based on her life.

By the way AbeBooks.com has a number of Mary Kingsley, A Victorian in the jungle starting from around $9 plus postage.

I beat-feet it right over to AbeBooks.com upon reading this post sibyx & errata and Whoo Hoo!~!, found & ordered the following:
Mary Kingsley: A Victorian in the Jungle,
385815::Travels in West Africa, and
617126::A Voyager Out: The Life of Mary Kingsley.
$39.07 for the lot including shipping. Not too bad for a day's work, I must say. Now I am off shortly to my confessor in Olympia to whom I confess all things bookish or not; my therapist. LOL!~!
Actually, mother decided she was ready @ 93 to go into an Adult Facility so I don't think I will need therapy much longer. Oh, she would laugh if she heard me say that.
Thank you so much for the info on finding Mary Kingsley errata.
hugs,
belva

I finished reading Listening Valley by D. E. Stevenson, which came from my dear SS Peggy. A delightful book, full of good feelings. Just what I need right now, as I am sick with pneumonia....YUCK!

Oh Paolina, I am so sorry that you are ill. I hope you have many soothing books to get you through your sick days. I will be sending get well wishes your way and thinking of my dear friend.
a get well hug,
belvina

TY my dear! I have a lot of books (as you know), but I get tired very easily. So, I have to read 'light' stuff.

I hope you feel better soon, Paola!

Right now, I'm reading Richard Russo's Empire Falls, which is a pleasure, and William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, which is hard work. But I'm sure it will be good for me.

>#168:
My dear, dear Paolina;
The depends are on their way.
love,
belvina

>#169:
Rob;
I hear that Empire Falls is very good. I am glad to hear another positive comment on it. I believe I have it on my shelf so perhaps 2011 will be the year for Russo. :-)

Take care Paola. Drink lots of water. Rest. Do what your doctor tells you. Keep us informed.

Thank you all for the wishes! It turned out it is NOT pneumonia (HURRAH!!!) even though the doctor was so sure about it. She wants me to see an ENT specialist because she thinks it might still be related to my sinuses and, it it is, it is plain awful!
Anyway, enough of my health problems, which are quite uninteresting, and happy reading to everyone!!!!!

Well, I guess I can save the Depends then. When I had it, I swear I peed my pants every time I coughed, sneezed or laughed for about 5 months. Very unprofessional for a banker and also just plain embarrassing.
I am so glad that it isn't the pneumonia but it still sounds dastardly. Hopefully very soon you will on the cured list.
hugs dear friend,
belvina

I loved Empire Falls -- that's the last Russo that I've really liked, though, I have to admit. the subsequent two have disappointed me.

I listened to Empire Falls on audio while staining a fence one summer. I had it plugged in on the deck and it was a wonderful back drop to the work. I am not sure what came after that but I have also recently listened to That Old Cape Magic on audio and it was good. The other one is Bridge of Sighs?

I hope you feel heaps better soon dear Paola. Unfortunately the idea that one lies in bed reading is sometimes a myth. One can, equally, lie in bed feeling horrible and not reading.

I also enjoyed Empire Falls, but haven't read anything else by Russo.

I really liked Bridge of Sighs, too. But now Russo has competition from my latest LTER book, Scorpions: The Battles and Triumphs of FDR's Great Supreme Court Justices.

My favorite Russo book is Straight Man. It is absolutely hilarious. I give it 100 stars.

#175> You got that right, Barbara! Even reading too much tires me and I hate that, oh how I hate that!
I have to get back on my feet again quickly, as Monday I have to go back to the prison....errr.....work.

So glad it's not pneumonia, Paola!

I read Empire Falls quite some time ago (whenever it was published) and wasn't at all impressed. Am I the only one?

I stayed up until about 3am last night (this morning?) reading Mary Ann in Autumn. I *really* want to know what's going to happen, although I'm not enjoying it as much as the others in the series. I think it's the weakest one. :(

Mary - Straight Man was wonderful. On a par with Lucky Jim. Almost. Lucky Jim is probably the funniest book I've ever read and also about academia. I have listened to all the Russo's on audio. There are people I read and people I listen to and he is definitely one of the latter.

>181 romain: romain,

If you like academic satire, you should read Pictures from an Institution by Randall Jarrell. I also quite liked Slouching Toward Kalamazoo by Peter Devries. But then I have a weakness for academic fiction. I must confess I found Lucky Jim too crudely sexist for my taste. The book felt like the academic version of Rabbit Run.

Hope you're feeling better, Paola!

I'm dipping into too many books at the moment and not finishing any of them -- need a little focus here. I'm still plowing through the Brothers Karamazov -- after a good start, I got sidetracked by hectic work and life schedules. I've started the brilliant new ballet history Apollo's Angels, which my husband claimed to have given me for Christmas, but which I ordered from AMZ (he did wrap it).
Then there's Crossing the Creek and Rajmahal for Belle.
But the Kinder are now gone, and I only have one more syllabus to prepare -- so if I stay off LT (hah!), I may get some reading done.

>183 janeajones: jane,

How did I miss Apollo's Angels. I used to be a dancer (and no, not a pole dancer) and go to dance performances whenever a group is in Knoxville. I depend on you for recommendations for new books. I've read at least three in the past four months that you mentioned.

184> Really, Mary? I feel like half the books I've bought in the past 2 years have come from your recommendations -- temptress that you are.

Kingsley Amis went on to be one of the more famous old sexist beasts of British lit, but at the time of Lucky Jim (early 50s) I think he was just a normal bloke. I read it first when I was 18. The Green Man was definitely dodgy but had the best cat in fiction - Victor Hugo, the Siamese, who leaps into rooms sideways with an expression that says, 'Are you a chess problem? Are you next October?' and who lies in wait for the hero's aged father so that he can trip him up - running back and forth between his legs and his walking sticks. I have never taken to Martin Amis because of his early work which I thought horribly sexist.

I have The History Man waiting to be read and David Lodge also does nice academic fiction. But mostly I love funny books. Really intelligent, funny books and the smoking in bed scene in Lucky Jim had me sobbing with laughter.

>186 romain:: Kingsley Amis went on to be one of the more famous old sexist beasts of British lit ... no kidding. I read his The Old Devils this year (b/c it won the Booker way back when) and absolutely despised it. I named it my worst read of the year. Blech.

Over the course of his life he also went from being ultra left wing to ultra right wing... I stopped reading him at the time of Jake's Thing but I still think Lucky Jim a wonderful book.

I thoroughly enjoyed Lucky Jim.

I'm reading Aiding and Abetting by Muriel Spark - a gift from my wonderful SantaThing Santa!

Pictures from an Institution is hilarious, supposedly a send-up of Sarah Lawrence, my alma mater..... where he taught for awhile (before my time). I think Lucky Tim is one of the funniest books about academia of all time...... and Straight Man is jogging not all that far behind.

Mary and Lucy - the Randall J one sounds hilarious if the one review on this site is to be believed. I will definitely look for it.

>192 romain:,

Oh you must read Randall J. Funny, funny, funny.

My favorite title of an academic satire although not a book I found particularly amusing is Eating People Is Wrong by Malcolm Bradbury.

Funny, I had never heard of Randall J. but he wrote the intro to The Man Who Loved Children, which I just finished a few days ago. Now I see him mentioned again here. Coincidence? Or fate? :)

>195 lauralkeet: "FATE," says a voice in sepulchral tones.

Oh I love those sepulchral tones ...

I'm reading The Edith Wharton Murders before I start on South Riding.

I began South Riding last evening at some point after 2:30 when my niece and granddaughters finally released me from the card table where we had been playing UNO and Phase 10. What a blast to play games, all sorts, all night, with the youngsters. They have been here since Christmas Eve afternoon. We laughed all night, kept the hubby awake but he loves having them here, and I felt absolutely ill in my tummy when they finally let me go .... from all the laughter.
Here is to a very happy 2011 with many good reads for all.
hugs,

I've just started on The Priory ... I managed a whole 7 pages before falling asleep last night. This staying-up-until-midnight lark is not for me!

>183 janeajones: jane,

Under very sad circumstances - the last bow of our one local (new books) bookstore, I found a copy of Apollo's Angels, which I promptly bought along with five other books to show my support, sympathy, and general desolation. None were on sale. Next week, however, there will be a special sell (all items 50%) for the select group of "Constant Readers." "Contant Readers" (pay attention here Miss Paola who thinks I am a Kindle hussy) were readers who constantly bought books from my dearly departed bookstore.

I also bought a bookcase from them. Just for the record, if any of you are faced with this tragedy in your home town, you will find the proprietors are often selling off fixtures et al. If you're in need ask. The prices are often amazing cheap. I also bought one comfy chair and ottoman from them for the amazing price of $50 (for all three chair, ottoman, bookcase). I started Apollo Angels last night, but was feeling fluish and went to bed instead.

Started Leaning Towards Infinity by Sue Woolfe, an Australian writer. This book was a gift from my dear friend, Amanda. (She's a Virago in her own right though not apart of this group!)

201> oh, I hate to see bookstores go....

I hate to see them go by the wayside as well and will drive 40 miles to the closest independent, (and my favorite), bookshop to make my purchases rather than go to Amazon. Though I do shop A.com when I must. I can order through my little shop and they always have it there the day after as they order daily. It's wonderful. And paying the higher price is worth the helping to keep them in business.

Loved the post Mary. Found it most interesting.
LOL!~!
ya know I luv ya!

Oh yes, thanks for reminding me of that incredible book.Testament of Youth I also got lost in completely several years ago when I read it - I still remember the feeling, being in another time that I knew little about. Isn't that just the best part of reading? or is the "best" part getting to know someone? Hard to decide, so many wonderful reasons to read read read.

I liked Empire Falls a lot. I was inspired to read it after hearing Richard Russo at NY Book Expo June 2009, when he talked about narrative with John Irving. I started with That Old Cape Magic which I thought was mildly entertaining, but felt he really put a lot more power and energy into Empire Falls - maybe it's just time and life passing, other interests, and so on. I always enjoy his books-into-movies, and he's one of the few male writers I choose to read, so that's saying something right there!

I am currently reading a biography of Hildegarde vin Bingen entitle Hildegard of Bingen. Love those original titles. They're so heartwarming. I am also reading the Federalists papers. Wow. They should be required reading for members of Congress.

I'm reading The Sound and the Fury for my book group, and have doubts about my ability to finish it. Faulkner is just not my cup of tea, or rather, he's not my brand of bourbon.

Welcome JaneReading!

Reading a bio of Mary Wesley Wild Mary -- she certainly qualifies as a Virago candidate. I'm not sure that it is a very good bio, but I'm particularly interested in the 'late bloomer' aspect of her life, and she's not yet out of her twenties, busy making bad life choices that will give her all her rich material!

I just started Cleopatra: A Life. So far, so good.

After the intensity of South Riding, I needed pure fluff so I'm reading A Rather Lovely Inheritance. So far it has lovely descriptions of Belgravia townhouses, the Riviera, gorgeous fashions, and elegant meals. Can a book be eye-candy for the brain?

Oddly, the author who encouraged Belmond in her writing career is Margaret Atwood!

I have read A Rather Lovely Inheritance and enjoyed its 'fluffiness' :-))

I picked it (A Rather Lovely Inheritance) up in a thrift store recently. I will move it up the list.

I gave up on just kids and started a house with four rooms last night, much more my cup of tea.

Almost by chance I decided to pick up A Nest of Magpies by Sybil Marshall (her first novel written when she was 80!! There is hope, girls!!!)from one of the TBR mountains. I am really enjoying it, a nice and cozy read.

I am slogging away at Sabina Flanagan's Hildegard of Bingen. It is dry but informative. More discussion of this on my book thread at Le Salon.

I am reading such a good book at the moment. It is Moments of Being by Virginia Woolf. I do not believe it was written for publication but for her own pleasure/need to understand the goings on of her family. It is:
"A collection of five memoir pieces written for different audiences and spanning almost four decades, Moments of Being reveals the remarkable unity of Virginia Woolf's art, thought, and sensibility. "Reminiscences," written during her apprenticeship period, exposes the childhood shared by Woolf and her sister, Vanessa, while "A Sketch of the Past" illuminates the relationship with her father, Leslie Stephen, who played a crucial role in her development as an individual and a writer. Of the final three pieces, composed for the 'Memoir Club', which required absolute candor of its members, two show Woolf at the threshold of artistic maturity and one shows a confident writer poking fun at her own foibles. A showcase of Woolf's only autobiographical writings, Moments of Being provides invaluable insight into a woman who forever changed the face of literature."
I am loving this piece.

Loving Major Pettigrew's Last Stand!

Paola, I have the same Sybil Marshall though yet unread. Never heard of her before when I came across her in a used bookshop. She seems very much a Virago and very much like Miss Pym. Glad you've settled in with a nice cozy read, dear friend.

Cate, go ahead and read it, it is quite enjoyable. I am planning to get the sequel(s), you can find very inexpensive copies on Amazon MP.

Hmm . . . I have A Nest of Magpies on my Amazon wishlist for practically forever. I don't even remember how it got there. I am trying to exercise restraint. Right now I am feeling the need to be lost in a really god book. I haven't had that satisfying reading experience in a long time.

I read A Nest of Magpies a while back and found it a gentle, undemanding read. Probably perfect for when you're recovering from illness. One problem I did have with it was that the protag's voice sounded much older than I'd expect from her age.

>#223:
Oh Mary, how sad. I need at least one really satisfying book every couple of weeks or the doldrums hit me.

>#223: Right now I am feeling the need to be lost in a really god book... Mary, I suspect that Hildegard of Bingen is a God book. The question is whether it's any good.

I think she meant good as opposed to god.

>227 rainpebble: But, Belva, god is good. ;)

God is awesome Christina. He is number 1 in my life, then hubby, then children and grandchildren, then baby brother and his family, then my other 2 brothers and my mother.
You are so totally right. God is good; all the time. And all the time; God is good.
hugs,
xoxo

I just finished Cat and Mouse by Christianna Brand. My sixth Brand, I think. Her output is variable but this one was well worth reading. I understand she wrote the Nanny McPhee books as well as her murder mysteries. Never read them but I hear the movie was great.

I am still struggling through The Sound and the Fury sometimes falling asleep in the middle of a sentence that has no punctuation sometimes the scent of honeysuckle throwing the book a Library of America edition across the room and unleashing a string of Caddy if I hear one more word about Caddy I swear Ill wondering based on Faulkner and Mother U whether insanity is endemic in the American South or if sold Benjys pasture so Quentin could Dalton Ames Dalton Ames Dalton Ames this is the what not maybe if instead although enough.

Hmmm, wait until Ltw3rd reads your post, rbhdy3rd.....she's a Faulkner aficionado!

Linda is indeed the maven of "All things Faulkner". We worship at her feet; those of us who strive to understand the words and phrases of this extremely talented author who sometimes gets away from us.
And when she speaks: Listen and learn.
hugs,
wee wet rock

#224> the protag's voice sounded much older than I'd expect from her age
You are sooooo right! For goodness sake, she is younger than I am and I feel as if she were ten years older!
Apart from that, I am enjoying the book, which is a gentle read indeed and, as you say, perfect when recovering from an illness or if under mental stress.

I popped into my favorite independent bookshop yesterday and ordered the set of 5 Sybil Marshalls. They were unable to find them in current print so will seek them out used, which is all fine by me.
They sound like they will fit into a cozy category. Am I right there or missing something?

Oh, and I am currently 1/2 way through a trashy but enjoyable Nora Roberts novel that my granddaughter conned me into reading. Devine Evil about Satanism and a small town in the Eastern part of the U.S. There is of course the successful artistic girl recently come home from New York and the hunky local cop who fall for each other. Roberts always likes to throw a little or a lot, as the case may be, of steam into her books. But must say I am enjoying it. Started it last night, will probably finish tonight or tomorrow.
Am still reading Virginia Woolf's Moment's of Being which is absolutely lovely.

I really love the Sybil Marshalls, very gentle and countrysidey. A bit like the Jan Karon Mitford series in my mind... but I haven't read either for a while, to be fair.

Now read A Woman's Place: 1910-1975, a Persephone reprint but she discusses a lot of topics mentioned in Virago books and even mentions a few of its authors. I'm up to page 150 and so far the author has mentionedL Vera Brittain, Sheila Kaye-Smith, Mrs. Humphrey Ward, Edith Hull, Vita Sackville-West, Violet Trefusis, Rosamund Lehmann, Radclyffe Hall, and EM Delafield.

Oh yes, Belva, cozy indeed.
I finished A Nest of Magpies yesterday, and ordered book 2 and 3. I will get 4 and 5 eventually, but not right now.
I really enjoyed the Mitford series too, Lyzzy, and I will read it all over again. Those books are so full of good feelings that they make you feel good. If you have not read them, Belva, I think you should: you would like them.

#231 With many thanks to Tui for alerting me to Rob's imminent breakdown...I wish I had known sooner, and maybe I could have done something for him...I fear he may be drowning in the Mississippi mud that sullies Caddie's drawers... Rob...Rrrrrrrob!!! Are you OK? Speak to us, PLEASE. Redheads have to be so much more careful when dabbling in the Southern realms...they're so susceptible to getting burned by that blazing sun. Seriously...I feel your pain. I wouldn't force The Sound and the Fury on anyone who wasn't already enamored of My Man Bill. I would like to see a sign of life from Rob, though. *shakes head grimly*

I've just read The Chosen and The Promise by Chaim Potok - amazing, amazing books. They belonged to my friend Ali's Dad, who passed away a couple of years ago - she made his Potok books available on BookCrossing but didn't want to wild release them. So far they've been through our friend Bridget and me, they're with Gill now, then back to me for Matthew to read, then on to our other friend Laura!

Just finished a Mary Wesley, A Sensible LIfe and am starting A Comedy in a Minor Key by Hans Keilson.
That's odd, it won't load with its real title, Comedy in a Minor Key but when I put "A" in front, it loads...with the proper title.

>#240:
LyzzyBee;
Isn't Chaim Potok beyond wonderful? We went through all of his for our book club many years ago and always had the most interesting conversations crop up on these books. I really appreciated his writing.
belva

I have read all of Potok and consider them life changing. Whenever I make a mental list of my top ten all time favorite books I have to reduce them to one or they would take up the whole list. That would have to be The Chosen but Asher Lev, Davita's Harp and The Book of Lights are only a fraction of a point behind. The movie of The Chosen is not bad. You won't be totally disappointed.

I am still flittering hither and thither like the wanton butterfly trying to find a book to which I can commit. I am currently flittering around Oscar's Books by Thomas Wright--a biography organized around the library of Oscar Wilde. I wonder why someone hasn't written urania's books. I should probably be interested in reading that ;-)

With a sniffle and a heavy heart, I finished South Riding last night and have now moved on to The Help. I've heard people say it's very good, but I'm not sure how well it'll hold up after 600 divine pages of Winifred Holtby.

I am reading (well, listening to) Deborah Devonshire's memoir, Wait for Me!. She is the youngest of the Mitford sisters. It's a fascinating but totally foreign way of life.

Time for a new thread. We are becoming a bit cumbersome.
The new thread is here:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/107687