Some Tame Gazelle (Revised) | 
pickI discovered Pym last year and absolutely have fallen in love with her novels. Reminiscent of Austen, Pym writes of comings and goings, contented middle-aged spinsters, vicars and curates, rejected proposals—and I‘m here for it. (Alas, this one does have a few sections that haven‘t aged well.) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
pickI had a delightful time getting to know sisters Belinda and Harriet as well as all the characters in their English village. Pym understands human nature so well. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
pickMiddle aged sisters Belinda and Harriet are pillars of their village and its church. Sensible Belinda has been quietly in love with the (married) Archdeacon since they were students together while flighty Harriet is devoted to each new curate who comes to the parish. What should they serve when entertaining the clergy (or, indeed, a distinguished librarian) to dinner and which poets are appropriate to quote in such company? Such fun!
What say you, Librarians of Litsy?
I can feel a Pym coming on…
pickWonderful. Poignant, charming and oh so funny. I adored the Bede sisters. I‘m ready to don my velvet frock and have some (caterpillar-free) cauliflower cheese!
My fourth Pym (after Excellent Women, Quartet in Autumn and Jane&Prudence) and I just love her. So glad I have more of her work to look forward to.
“The new curate seemed quite a nice young man, but what a pity it was that his combinations showed, tucked carelessly into his socks, when he sat down.”
#FirstLineFridays
pick3⭐️ My first Barbara Pym! A humourous story about unmarried, middle-aged sisters living in a quiet country village. One cannot get over her old unrequited love (after 30 years!); the other keeps herself busy taking care of the new curate. Subtle snarky remarks are sprinkled here and there, and I like how it‘s both funny and melancholic
The best thing about WFH is that you can read book when it‘s a bit quiet 😆 #donttellmyboss 🤫
Halfway through my first Barbara Pym, I lost my mind and had to have the Virago editions of all her books. I ordered them from Abebooks and received a Virago large print for one of the titles! Why don‘t they understand that they all have to be the same?! 🙁
#bookwormproblems #firstworldproblems
“After all, you both love the Archdeacon,” Harriet had explained, and Belinda supposed that it was true, though one could hardly admit it to oneself. Possibly, thought Belinda, I love him more than Agatha does, but my feeling may be the stronger for not having married him.”
Ya think?
This was just a random pick from Hoopla while between books. I knew of Barbara Pym and had always intended to read her, and now I wish I gotten around to it sooner. This book is charming and just what I needed right now! #happyaccidents
pickIt‘s been a few years since I read a Pym book, but I slipped right back in to her quiet but humorous takes on English mid-century village life. This was a fun read, Harriet and Belinda are quite the pair.
#catsoflitsy #HelloKitty
Why hello, Fall! Glad to see you could finally join us! It‘s a lovely overcast morning, and I am so happy it‘s cool enough to be able to sit and read on my porch again! 🍂🍁🍂
98% of the time, my kid is awesome. Tonight, she‘s a little 😈. Finally found a peaceful activity that she is satisfied doing (after her saying no to a dozen suggestions) but it took about 30 minutes and threatening going to bed early after I said no TV tonight.
I really needed some quiet downtime with a cozy book, glad she finally obliged. 😌
Definitely had a full dose of the tween angst tonight!
Blessed Mabon to those who celebrate, and Happy Autumn Equinox to those in the northern hemisphere!
I‘m trying to commit to reading at least one book each month that has been on my bookshelf for a looong time. On a whim, I grabbed this Barbara Pym because I am in the mood for something cozy! I read Excellent Women years ago, they are both from a stash of Pym books my mother-in-law gave me about a decade ago. 😳
Any Pym readers out there?
Wine + Pym = A Perfect Evening.
I‘m 55 pages into this novel and I‘m rapturously in love. 💚💙
pickA pleasant little light, humorous read. Great for those times when you are tired of violence, suffering, and unrest. This book won‘t interfere with your sleep or leave you angry. Similar to a British sitcom- fun and simple.
Here‘s an example of the mild snark that Pym has written into this book. The two main characters wouldn‘t DREAM of being rude, mean, or disagreeable! 😇. So far a fun read.
1. Not much crazy of late. SMIRK!!! 🐈
2. Coffee and a fluffernutter
3. So far, good ( only on page 11)
4. Scissors handle
5. 4‘10.5
@MinDea
#Humpdaypost
pickPym writes about the lives of English gentlewomen in the 1950s. This is her debut novel and while I didn't enjoy it as much as "No Fond Return of Love" it was still interesting to follow the lives of the two spinster sisters. The author writes with so much pointy humor and with just the right amount of details to let these quirky characters come to life.
so-soI thought this would be just my cup of milky tea, but alas, it wasn‘t.
Its wit and amusing insights could not compensate for the underlying sadness I felt when reading it. The characters seemed so needlessly stuck in lives that held little meaning.
Witty as it was, I just didn‘t give a fig what happened to any of the characters.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
No one quite writes about the #SingleLadies like Barbara Pym. Thank you to @BarbaraBB , whose post about Excellent Women reminded me that I need to move these other novels up my TBR!
#Aprella
I love Barbara Pym. The two main characters in this book could #takemetochurch with them anytime as they coddle and romanticize the various clergymen. This is one of the first of Pym's books that I read (and the fist she published) and I have been grabbing copies of her books at thrift stores and library sales ever sense. Her books are like comfort food. #lyricalapril
pickA wonderful if somewhat bittersweet tale of two sisters, Belinda and Harriet single women in a time when women were expected to marry or live in a very coded way. It's every day life at his simplest but also at it's most poignant. Loneliness, aloneness, one's own inadequacies, all written in a restrained yet very intense style. I especially like all the food and all the plot around the food.
I loved this novel so much when I read it on Kindle a couple months ago, and so I just had to have this edition in pristine condition.
#photoadaynov16
#latestbookishbuys
Today's book haul at 4 for Q9! I can't believe I found Some Tame Gazelle in the charity shop after enjoying all your quotes, @shawnmooney !
pickMy first Pym; her 1950 debut. A quiet yet hilarious novel about two 50-something unmarried sisters in a small British town: Harriet dotes on each successive young curate and Belinda still carries a torch for her college beau, who's long since been the married archdeacon across the street. I especially loved how Pym softened my laughter at Harriet and Belinda's foibles by making me recognize their yearnings as my--as our--very own.
