Dear Life. by Alice Munro | 
so-soMy first Munro.
Maybe the problem was that I'd heard such good things but I was insufficiently whelmed. It's an interesting premise: those pivotal moments that change the trajectories of ordinary lives. They're competent stories sure enough but for me they lacked that spark that compels me to sit up and take notice. Several days later I recall very little at all of them.
And why are they all set in the early to mid decades of the previous century?
The last Alice Munro on my shelf. Pretty terrific.
Just heard about this-2 days late. I have not read all her books, but those that I have I‘ve thoroughly enjoyed. I love the book written by her daughter about their relationship.
https://www.npr.org/2024/05/14/1251314790/alice-munro-dead
Just the matter-of-fact statement of devastating events: u-boat sinking passenger ferry, gas chambers, death of parent. And the emotional investment in smaller, seemingly inconsequential events later on—this contrast is so disconcerting and effective.
pickWrote a short story last week and went back to remember how it really should be done. The uncompromising tone, the surprises, readjustments. The detail. The placid surface and all the roiling beneath. Choices to be made or abandoned. The construction & cadence and the passage of time. Clinical, yet full of mystery. All the suppression is frustrating sometimes, but beautiful. “Gravel” still a fave. “Corrie” — is the New Yorker ending better? 2012.
I‘m not very well acquainted with many Canadian authors, but a bit of research tells me that Alice Munro often sets her stories in Huron, where she lives. My great-great-great grandparents emigrated from Buckinghamshire, England to Huron, Ontario and are buried in the area.
#Canada #LetsTravelJuly
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620
pickFirst 5-star read of 2019! And it‘s short stories, which I rarely read. But this collection just floored me. Don‘t know how I‘ve waited so long to read her work, but so glad I finally did & will def be picking up more! These stories aren‘t plot heavy, they don‘t always have a “point”, but the characters are so real & the way she writes emotion, scenery, life...just beautiful. & thank God there are no BS 3 pg “stories” — all a good length 😜 5/5 ⭐️
We say of some things that they can‘t be forgiven, or that we will never forgive ourselves. But we do—we do it all the time.
Highman [...] Population 1,553.
Why do they bother to put the 3 on?
Every soul counts.
There‘s always one morning when you realize that the birds have all gone.
And before long he found himself outside, pretending that he had as ordinary and good a reason as anybody else to put one foot ahead of the other.
What he carried with him, all he carried with him, was a lack, something like a lack of air, of proper behavior in his lungs, a difficulty that he supposed would go on forever.
The dream was in fact a lot like the Vancouver weather—a dismal sort of longing, a rainy dreamy sadness, a weight that shifted round the heart.
I‘m not super into short stories but I know Alice Munro is quite widely beloved, and I mean, look at the award stuff on this cover. Nobel and Man Booker? Not bad, not bad. 😜 #nowreading
pickI‘m still basking in the afterglow of these stories and have nothing intelligible to say except they‘re breathtaking and I need to read a lot more #AliceMunro, especially if these aren‘t her best, as I‘ve heard. 💗 #DearLife #shortstories #nobelprize
“If you live long enough as a parent nowadays, you discover that you have made mistakes you didn‘t bother to know about along with the ones you do know about all too well. You are somewhat humbled at heart, sometimes disgusted with yourself.” - #AliceMunro, #DearLife #parenting
Alice Munro and this sunny, simple reading spot are giving me life right now. #AliceMunro #shortstories #whereiread #rooibos
so-soCollection of short stories by Noble prize winner, my first Munro and her latest book so I'm not sure if this is representative of her work or not. However I just couldn't connect with the stories, they seem to be going somewhere and then just nothing and mostly about sad little lives. I generally don't mind sad stories or ones about small/simple lives but this just didn't work for me.
#readingwomenchallenge
My travel stack... bookworm problem: over packing books because I just can't decide or predict my future moods... But library book is a no brainer.
pickDay 2: Dear Life by Alice Munro; short story collection by one of the masters; review includes a list of topics / themes for #bookclub discussion
#31Books #BooksIrecommend @LitandLeisure
ow.ly/jLBl30laFtg
pickI loved this book! There are some that are (loosely) connected, and some stand alone, but Munro does not disappoint.
On vacation in Victoria, Canada. Of course we stopped at Munro's Books, which was owned by author Alice Munro's husband until his death last year. He left the store to four long-time employees on the condition that they continue to operate it as an independent bookstore.
So, I know that Litsy was acquired by Library Thing a little bit ago, but I cataloged my personal library with it this morning. I made the mistake of buying a couple of used books that I already owned more than once in the last few months. Here‘s to hoping having everything I own in my phone keeps me from over purchasing!
How do you keep track of your books?
Almost caught up with #riotgrams Day 8, spine poetry. Mine didn't come out too well, but poetry has never been my strong suit
I‘m not a huge fan of most short stories. There are some that I‘ve read and enjoyed, but more often than I end up bailing.
This is on my #TBR list for this year! I really hope I enjoy it.
#RiotGrams - Short Stories
Similar to Woolf, I read some Munro, but abruptly stopped even though I enjoyed what I read. Hopefully that changes this year!
We‘re repainting the walls in the living room, so I need to empty my bookshelves and store the books temporarily in boxes. These are just four of the boxes, and I‘m adding more shelves once the walls are done, hehehe!
#booksfromboxes #tuneintonovember @Robothugs @Cinfhen
I usually do not read two books at once. Well, my other book is nonfiction. This is my first short story collection which I am loving already. Plus, you all know I don't want to run out of time to read all the books. 🤣
Happy Birthday to @thereadingwomen ! Very well-deserved!
They have an awesome photo challenge going on for this month, do join in Littens!!
Remembered to put together a list of everything I read for the month. As always at this time in my life, a lot of Cat Who books read while nursing baby to sleep at night. And three other books that were definite highlights in the year so far - the beautiful Dear Life, the excellently helpful Whole-Brain Child, and Gone Girl, which I know my twin sister didn't like but I rather enjoyed.
pickSo beautiful. I've only read one other collection of stories by Alice Munro, but once again I was immediately transported into the atmosphere of each story, the feelings of each character. The last four "memories" of her own life are especially poignant because one obviously develops a curiosity about a great writer's life. I highly recommend it.
I have so much work to do this week, so I'm making really slow progress, but enjoying the beautiful writing.
"We say of some things that they can't be forgiven, or that we will never forgive ourselves. But we do - we do it all the time." - From Dear Life by Alice Munro
Sigh. This is such a fantastic last line for a book. Who else loves Alice Munro?
some mornings you just gotta stay in bed and be like..😴😴 #readinginbed for #photoadaynov16 😍📚
@RealLifeReading
pickWhen I think of #shortstories, I always think of Alice Munro first because, really, nobody does them better. This is a fabulous collection. I was gripped right away time and again. She's a master at fitting so much into so small a space. This is also my belated #recommendsday and #www pick. 😍😍😍 @RealLifeReading #somethingforsept
Two hardly touched books from The Friends of the Library book sale. Score!
pickI am not a lover of short stories, but for the stories of Alice Munro I gladly make an exception. Wonderful, atmospheric stories.
