Welcome to Litsy!

This book is so long. And antidotal. I didn‘t really start to REALLY enjoy this book until the last like third of it. I don‘t have a reason why.

#MidwinterSolace #LitSolace

Our #FridayNightshare is to recommend your go-to comfort reads. Seems appropriate for this scary week.

The tagged is my go-to contemporary read. My comfort classics are Sense & Sensibility and David Copperfield.

What are yours?

@Chrissyreadit @TheBookHippie

This hefty and magical work of literary fantasy is a masterpiece.

Full of atmospheric moments, superior world building, gorgeous prose, and wry Georgian character, Norrell and Strange exudes quality from every pore.

Unarguably a slow burn, this book will linger in the mind long after reading.

I hit a massive reading slump around page 700, but it picked up again by the end, and I will never forget Norrell or Strange in all their eccentricity!

How is a magician to exist without books? Let someone explain *that* to me. It is like asking a politician to achieve high office without the benefit of bribes or patronage.

Finding this an odd read. I'm not exactly bored, but there's such a remove from all the characters that I have no one to be interested in. It's like reading a moderately entertaining history book.

#DoubleSpin

Did not occur to me that there might be long waits for this 20 year old book, so I'm pretty late starting. #DoubleSpin

Rae meets Susanna Clarke.

Photos weren't allowed, but the talk was fascinating. She was in convo with Rev. Richard Coles.

Found out that she once lived in Southwell. REPRESENT!!!!!!!! 🥰🥰🥰

I'm still only halfway through this wonderful and expansive book, but it's spellbinding and I love it.

#WickedWhispers #Cadaver @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@Eggs

I am loving this so far! And they've just mentioned my little town 🥰🥰🥰

New acquisitions!

#two4tuesday

🍎

I‘m making very slow progress through the tagged book - sometimes on my phone, sometimes on my kindle.

😝 I am enjoying the undercurrent of humour in this book - keeps me going!

But also, if you break into a house via the pantry window… you might as well help yourself to pie and cheese!

Got through a couple of chapters while waiting for The Last Dinner Party to start… I‘m not a huge fan of general admission (especially when the venue gets changed - general admission at the Forum is fine but I really couldn‘t see much at Festival Hall) but despite seemingly being surrounded by the tallest people in Melbourne- it was a brilliant show! (I‘m concerned about international acts enthusiasm for the shoey tho… just say NO!)

14 hours and 55 minutes left in book 😮

Thanks for the tag @The_Penniless_Author 🙏

1. I think young me would have liked to be a flying horse.

2. The tagged book has fairies, which I don‘t want to be because they‘re kinda mean. 🧚

#Two4Tuesday

#freebiefriday #litsylove

Favorite chunkster….I love a good chunkster! Favorites include the Outlander series, Paradise…probably my most recent favorite chunkster read was Johnathan Strange & Mr. Norrel. It was about 1,000 pages, a book club pick, and I didn‘t expect to like it. I ended up loving it! ❤️📚

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Read4life @TieDyeDude

12-28 Feb 24 (audiobook)
Not for me. I battled my way through this for over two weeks and really not sure why I persisted. It seemed to go forever, made worse by the fact that I kept tuning out or falling asleep and having to rewind.
Whilst it was probably well-written, I have now concluded that Clarke‘s books are not for me.

Fourth time attempting to read this and this time is the charm. I am finally engrossed in it at 100 pages in on kindle(not sure what this equates to in paper pages). Probably enjoying this more because I‘ve been reading a bunch of McCammon‘s Matthew Corbett series this year and I like the historical part of it, but this blends that with magic.

#JonathanStrangeandMrNorrell #SusannaClarke #ebook #kindle

I tried to do a #bookerdozen @vivastory , but out of the ones I've read (18 + 2 bails), these 3 are the only ones that stood out. There's plenty more of them on the list that I want to read eventually, though 😂😂😂!

I really enjoyed this book. It‘s written as if it were a biography of two magicians who restored English magic; it even has footnotes. I‘m tempted to say it‘s too long, but I was never bored, so it‘s probably just right. Neither Strange nor Norell are particularly nice people, but I don‘t need everyone to be likeable. I‘m really glad I finally read this book. #audiowalk

I‘ve got less than 2 hours left in this book, so I should be finished tomorrow. At 32 hours, it‘s the longest book I‘ve listened to or read in a while. The audiobook of Stephen King‘s Fairy Tale (which is the longest book I‘ve read this year) is 24 hours and 6 minutes. #audiowalk

Finally got our Christmas tree today. Tomorrow we will decorate it. Christmas is in a week. Yikes! #audiowalk

I only have 8 hours and 50 minutes left in this 32 hr and 29 min audiobook! Yay! It‘s due back to the library in 6 days — I shouldn‘t have to renew it. Mr. Norell is an egotistical snake! #audiowalk

That Mr. Norell is a piece of work! I‘m feeling better after being sick from the vaccines, so I got in some walks today. #audiowalk

Busy day today — doctor‘s appointment, 4 vaccines, some shopping, and the museum of art‘s reception downtown which featured 3 of my daughter‘s pieces. I‘m surprised I was able to fit in a walk. I‘m so tired now & don‘t know if it‘s from the busy day, the vaccines, or both. This is a long book but it looks like I‘m about halfway through. #audiowalk

I‘m really liking the writing and the world building in this book. I do wish there was a little more explanation of how the magic works; I seem to remember it being more specific in the show. That‘s a minor issue though. #audiowalk

Finally, Jonathan Strange shows up somewhere besides the footnotes! Almost 8 hours in. That live oak at the bottom is Duffie Oak in Mobile; it‘s supposed to be one of the oldest trees in the US. It was almost cut down years ago for an apartment complex, but neighbors protested and it was saved. #audiowalk

This feels like what a fantasy novel written by Dickens would be like. I really like it so far. I‘m glad I finally chose to listen to it. #audiowalk

I‘ve always wanted to read this, but the print in my hardback copy is so tiny that I was intimidated. Audio seems the way to go. So far, I really like it, but I expected to because I loved the tv series. #audiowalk

A reread comfort read that I adored even more than the first time. It's such an engaging story with a wonderful, eccentric cast of characters. Equal parts are gothic, creepy and hilarious. Mr Norrell is one of my all-time favourite characters. 5⭐️

#20in4 #RushReadathon @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES

#NovelNovember readathon roundup.

📖 Bailed on Pym. I love her writing but didn't take to the characters.
📖 Kept up with #NaturaLitsy reading of The Secret Garden.
📖 750 pages of J S & Mr Norrell. Hope to finish this today as I can not stop reading it.
📖 Starting The glass blowers and Our darkest night after Norrell.
📖 I got distracted by Bret Easton Ellis's collection of essays White and History Hit's series on Napolean.
@Andrew65

This guy and his books. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I'm thoroughly enjoying revisiting this old favourite. I had forgotten how funny it is.

Mr Norrell has to be one of the best characters in English literature imo. Eddie Marsan did a magnificent job bringing him to life in the BBC adaptation.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jonathan-Strange-Mr-Norrell/dp/B00Y1PPAHIhickleberrypun...

Oh, hello, old friend 😍
I have a stinking cold and feeling sorry for myself. So, a day of comfort, it is.
Favourite book ✔️
Cat ✔️
Herbal tea ✔️
Blankets✔️

Have a great Saturday x

‘I have been many things since last we met. I have been trees and rivers and hills and stones. I have spoken to stars and earth and wind. One cannot be the conduit through which all English magic flows and still be oneself.‘

5 ⭐️

While there are aspects of this novel that make it an impressive accomplishment, it's not for me. I remain grateful to any work that helps me fine tune my reading tastes. Not only do I have it further confirmed that books which are either set in a historical time period or written in a style of a novel from an earlier time are rarely hits for me, I've got fresh evidence that I don't really enjoy books focused on the learning & practice of magic.

Cats: judging you for your own good.😆😾🐈‍⬛

Self burn? ?
"... novelists were quite another..." ??

Painful authenticity added by mentioning the version where it's a group of persecuted women who leave the traditional domestic sphere is the less popular version of the story. 😑

Getting some real Gollum/Bilbo with the One Ring vibes here...my precious...📚

Don't mess with a French figurehead! 😄

Keeping with my theme from last week‘s #weirdwordwednesday I love this one too! though it might be a tad too pretentious sounding to actually use, even in writing, (kinda a thing with this book if I remember 😆) #weirdwords @CBee

Abandoned halfway through.

I was going to check this out from my library because I had it tagged in Libby as a potential read but when I saw it was almost 900 pages, I went with the kindle version instead to save my hands
I'm no stranger to big books and I love them, but my arthritic hands do not any more.. so kindle version won out this time.

I was told by a online stranger that this is a REALLY good book, so here we are.

#bigbook #npr100sff

I‘m left with mixed feelings. I‘ve tried & failed to read both the print & audio versions before, but the combo worked. All the complaints I usually hear about this are completely true, but they‘re also integral to the tone and atmosphere the author is trying to convey. Anything singular always pleases me, so this is a pick, but I couldn‘t decide if I wanted it to meander along forever or hurry up & get to the point. #Booked2023 #GaslampFantasy

So not the book I thought I‘d learn useful facts from! I remember hearing this term for the first time when I was around 8 years old and desperately wondering what it had to do with 🦍. But I wasn‘t the type of child who asked my parents stuff and this was before the internet, so until I got to this footnote today it never occurred to me to look it up 😂