Welcome to Litsy!

It‘s a great day for some Brontë research! I feel like I‘ve emerged from my chrysalis like a cicada— this past Spring Semester was the hardest so far.

I learned Yiddish, made two websites, did three digital humanities projects, read over a thousand pages, including three textbooks, and wrote over 50 pages.

It sounds weird but, after all that, focusing on just one paper feels almost luxurious.

Not me spending the next three days frantically returning to the books I stalled out on in '22! Today I finished off this one which I started with the #PemberLittens. I side-eyed the Austen chapters, adored the ones about Charlotte Bronte, yawned my way through Eliot/Stowe, and perked up again with Woolf and Mansfield. All in all, uneven reading with some unsubstantiated claims, but I appreciate the perspective on these legendary female authors.

November 12 #NovemberNarrative Friendship @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

#PemberLittens @sprainedbrain

I'll give this a soft pick. I rather enjoyed it, despite non-fiction not being my forte, probably because it's so novelized that it reads like four short stories. I'm left with doubts of how much guessing and how much facts are in this book, but happy to have learned of other female authors and welcoming any debunking of the myth that women can't be friends because we are always bitching (maybe Woolf's doesn't count as example) #Pemberlittens

I enjoyed reading this along with #pemberlittens but I dragged a bit in the last chapter. Finally I am glad to finish. Good thing about this book is it added many other books to my never ending TBR. I am particularly intrigued by the second part ( about Brontë sisters) and the last one was least favourite. I couldn‘t understand what was the agenda of the authors. 3⭐️ I could finish dis cos of #buddyread thank u ? @BarkingMadRun @sprainedbrain

I didn‘t enjoy this as much as I‘ve hoped. It has an intriguing premise & what I‘ve read so far was interesting, as I‘ve not read any of the featured authors‘ individual biographies, but I didn‘t like the many aspects of conjecture. Especially in the first section, Austen, which has left a sour taste in my mouth. Also I didn‘t like the tone of the writing. And after the section of Bronte & Mary Taylor, I wasn‘t motivated to pick it up again.

Read with #PemberLittens This book while interesting, just didn‘t do it for me. There have been some very articulate reviews from others who read along & I don‘t feel like I can add much more to those other than my feelings. While I learned some things about authors that I didn‘t know & added Charlotte Bronte‘s Villette to my “must read” list, I felt let down by some of the negativity between these famous women & felt like a couple of the pairs⬇️

I finished this one with the #pemberlittens
It was interesting to see some of the female friendships these writers had and how they inspired or motivated each other. But this wasn't the best biography of these women that I've read. I might not have finished if it wasn't a buddy read

I finished listening to the last chapter this morning, and although I think I liked it better than some of the other readers in our group, I also didn‘t love it. I felt some aspects were not fully supported and the authors sometimes speculated a bit too much to make what they had fit their views. Overall, it was a good introduction to some authors that I‘ve never delved deeply into learning about, but it‘s more a gateway than a definitive source.

#PemberLittens #JaneandtheExcellentReadalong September 2022 @SprainedBrain

Through letters and diaries never published before, A Secret Sisterhood resurrects these forgotten stories of female friendships. Sometimes scandalous and volatile, sometimes supportive and inspiring, but always tantalizingly though consigned to the shadows. Two female writers and best friends bring to light the literary friendships of four iconic female authors.

Some of this was interesting, and I learned a lot about several authors I didn‘t know very well (pretty much everyone but JA). But the authors drew conclusions that weren‘t supported. I know the goal of research and writing is to forge new paths, but a lot of this felt like arguing for argument‘s sake. Jane was catty about Anne, so she was mean and their relationship had soured. But Virginia and Katherine must have been closer than the 👇🏻

I wanted to jot down some thoughts I had about the book, but I ended up venting a bit in a long review which you can read on Goodreads, if you're so inclined 😅
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4961153728 This had some good bits, but mainly let me down. It was neither here nor there & didn't fulfill the title's promise. A weird nonfiction book, as some others have pointed out. Thanks for leading the group read, @BarkingMadRun ! #pemberlittens

Chapter 12 and epilogue…. I‘ve been thinking about this quote for the last 4 chapters, so I‘m just gonna leave it at this! #toxicfriendship #frenemies #jealousy #pettyreviews #betteroffapart #pemberlittens

I love the premise here, and this was filled with some delicious tidbits about authors I adore. Also the conceit of a pair of women writer friends writing about pairs of women writer friends is cool. But something didn‘t completely draw me in. Maybe it‘s that it‘s really really difficult to co-write and the prose weren‘t compelling enough, maybe something seemed lacking in the research…I‘m honestly not sure what was missing for me. #pemberlittens

I'm sort of ambivalent about this one. On one hand, I learned lots about some of these ladies and am encouraged to delve into their work a little more. On the other, I felt there was far too much conjecture and surmising and iffy scholarship, as if the writers made the facts fit the argument they set out to make, rather than concluding something accurate based on the evidence. Dot's not convinced either.

Chapter 11: Katherine is able to marry Murray, Ida is everyone‘s punching bag, and although Virginia did not like Bliss, she and Katherine suddenly get very….. close…. #murrywantstopublish #jealousyeverywhere #lovetriangle #lovepentagon #everybodyloveseverybody #pemberlittens

Finished early because I have a hospital appointment in Middlesex when we would have finished it, and I didn't want to lug the hardback up there. #PemberLittens @BarkingMadRun @sprainedbrain

Low pick/High so-so

Today I went to the Centenary Book Bazaar, but it was in the last hour or so and most of my favorite sections were pretty sparse. I did find these promising ladies looking at me. Though I haven‘t started the section on Woolf and Mansfield I thought I‘d grab her stories. I‘m not familiar with her work. #PemberLittens

Chapter 10: today we start the chapters about Virginia Woolf and Katherine Mansfield, who had a crazy #lovehate relationship. Lots of jealousy and backstabbing, while simultaneously working together! #chasteandunchaste #gossip #stolenideas #backstabbing #notstraighteningeachotherscrown #skipthepassive #totallyaggressive #pemberlittens

Chapter 9: Harriet blows off Marian for a couple of years, and mostly wrote about more seances 👻 although she did describe Florida in such a way that made Marian feel like she was there 🍊 Marian completed Middlemarch, Harriet‘s son disappeared, Harriet talked a little smack about Marian with a mutual friend, Marian changes up her writing style, Lewes dies, Marian remarries, Marian dies…. So much crammed into one chapter! #pemberlittens

Chapter 8: poor Thornie dies, and Marian and Harriet disagree over spiritual beliefs. But let‘s just talk about the underlined sentence. They are both committing social suicide, but he‘s the one invited out? She‘s not the one cheating on her spouse, it‘s so frustrating! #doublestandards #ouijaboards #poorselfimage #pemberlittens

So it‘s not just a recent product of social media…huh.
(That‘s Harriet Beecher Stowe, whose recent article about Lady Byron had unleashed something of a shitstorm of criticism)

#PemberLittens

Finished the Charlotte Brontë section last night and LOVED it! I tend to fall into the trap of believing that the Brontës were totally secluded, isolated weirdoes, what with their strange goth stories and made-up fantasy worlds. But of course they had friends and acquaintances (well...maybe not Emily), and reading more about Charlotte's life outside of the parsonage was a welcome reminder. And who else thinks that Mary Taylor is a total BAMF??

I am reading this book but a chapter per day has been a challenge for me. Just started chapter 5. 😀#pemberlittens

Chapter 7: George Eliot and Harriet Beecher Stowe get to know each other, amidst drama and sick family members. The pic above is the Priory, where Marian (aka George) entertained writers who weren‘t afraid to be seen with her! #pemberlittens #livinginsin #incest #drama #ihadnoidea #ineedtoreadmorebiographies

Really excited about this book. I am behind, just finished 3rd chapter. #pemberlittens

Chapter 6 brings us to the end of Charlotte‘s life, which ended not long after she married Arthur. We see the trio break up just a little, and after Charlotte passes, Elizabeth writes her biography…. #pemberlittens #thebiographywastootame #tellthetruth #evenarthurhatedit #maryshouldhavedoneit #ellenrodecoattails

I had a busy weekend and was already behind on this #ChapterADay readalong, but I caught up today while working around the house and audio baking. I enjoyed the Jane Austen chapters and might be even more intrigued by the Charlotte Bronte chapters. I definitely need to move Villette up the TBR list.

#PemberLittens #audiobook #nonfiction

Catching up today with the last chapter on Jane Austen and Anne Sharp. Today's installment takes us through the late years of Jane's life, with her books being published while Anne toils as a governess and a full-time companion to the sick sister of her employer. Much is made of Jane's gifting a presentation copy of Emma to Ms. Sharp. As this article shows, in 2010 that very copy sold for more than Jane probably could have dreamed. #PemberLittens

Chapter 5: charlotte decides she must study abroad, and borrows money from her aunt and drags her sister along. She falls for this guy, who has a wife 😳 but her aunt dies and she has to go home for a bit. After she goes back, nothing is the same, and she‘s a bit lost….. #pemberlittens #chapteraday #learningmorethanfrench #brusselsisforlovers

Chapter 4: we move on to Charlotte Brontë, who I‘ve never really read about, so this is all new to me. She wants to be a writer, but a famous poet has told her that as a woman, she should give it up ? she is part of a friendship trio, with Mary and Ellen, who couldn‘t be more different! #pemberlittens #southeycansuckit #hesjustjealous #dontstopcharlotte #girlpower

Chapter 4: we move on to Charlotte Brontë, who I‘ve never really read about, so this is all new to me. She wants to be a writer, but a famous poet has told her that as a woman, she should give it up ? she is part of a friendship trio, with Mary and Ellen, who couldn‘t be more different! #pemberlittens #southeycansuckit #hesjustjealous #dontstopcharlotte #girlpower

#weeklyforecast #biography #louisamayalcott #janeandtheexcellentreadalong #pemberlittens #audio #historicalmystery #asecretbookandsconesocietynovel

Back at work, so what reading I do this week will be a plus!

Chapter 3: I have so many thoughts! I will likely hashtag them all 🤣 Jane and Anne become mostly pen pals now, since they live so far apart, and Anne becomes her critic and confidante when Jane needs a truthful review of her books. Jane is “asked” to dedicate a book to the Prince Regent so she dedicated Emma to him. After Jane passes, we get another glimpse into how Cassandra really feels about Anne…. #pemberlittens #11kids #11 #holyheck

Chapter 2 brings Jane back to Godmersham for the summer, ready for lots of home theatricals, "dinners at local manor houses (and) balls in nearby Canterbury." Meanwhile her BFF Anne is always either working or down for the count due to debilitating migraines. A doctor comes to perform an utter horror of a treatment, but Eddie Austen up and fires her anyway citing her "ill health". Quick, someone get up a labor movement and agitate for sick leave!

Chapter 2: Jane acts the part of Emma to try and help Anne‘s situation, and snags her a place on their trip to the beach…. But when Anne comes back she starts to feel worse, and then the play she wrote for the children somehow gets her fired. #theyblamedherheadaches #mansfieldparkfeels #somanyparallels #pooranne #pemberlittens #chapteraday

Kicked off the #ChapterADay read with the #PemberLittens in (not-so) grand fashion- aboard the SS Badger on Lake Michigan. Chapter 1 has me intrigued and eager to keep reading. Some of what the authors are positing feels at times like mere speculation given the lack of letters between the two; but I'm looking forward to learning more and happy to be along for this ride!

Foreword and chapter 1: I skipped most of the intro because it seemed like there might be some spoilers. Here we meet Anne Sharpe, Jane‘s somewhat secret friend, who works for John and Fanny…. Also known as Jane‘s brother and SIL, Edward and Elizabeth….. #senseandsensibility #elizabethisfanny #nastyfamily #pemerlittens #chapteraday #jaaaaaames #couldntresist #imdonenow

My current stack is a little large 😂 I signed up for quite a few buddy reads….. two are books that is started in august but haven‘t finished yet, but the rest are all buddy reads, mostly a chapter a day! #pemberlittens #littensloveromance #losersclub

#pemberlittens it‘s almost time!! We start chapter one on Thursday! #chapteraday @sprainedbrain @alldebooks @jenniferw88 @thebookhippie @indoordame @daisey @suvata @batsy @blackink_whitepaper @rubyslippersreads @ravenlee @thearomaofbooks @erzascarletbookgasm @peanutnine @ruthiella @andrea313 @crinoline_laphroaig @nanuska_153 @debinhawaii

#PemberLittens

Our September/October book about Jane will A Secret Sisterhood (also about Charlotte Brontë, who figures in to our reading next month, too).

@BarkingMadRun has volunteered to lead the buddyread, so look for more information about the schedule from her. ❤️

I‘ve tagged those who previously expressed interest, but just let Kim know if you want to be added to her tag list!

Ok #PemberLittens, the consensus is that we will read A Secret Sisterhood for our September/October book about Jane.

This book has less than 30 chapters and is divided into different sections about each author. It would probably work for chapter a day, or any other kind of buddy read schedule.

Please let me know if you‘d like to host!

I just loved this book. I thought I already knew everything about Jane Austen, but I was wrong. Female friendships are at the center of this book, and that is something I truly enjoy, especially biographies.

#catsoflitsy #litsycats #litsycat

As the authors state in the introduction, male literary friendships have been celebrated while female authors has been seen as eccentric and isolated geniuses. And this book, is the authors attempt to show how wrong that view is in regard to female authors, they had friendships too.

This was my #BookSpin for January @TheAromaofBooks

I never thought about this regarding P&P.

Maybe it's the latent academic in me but this felt quite weak. The premise is that significant friendships between female authors don't get the attention they deserve. I don't doubt it. But there is fast too much speculation based on flimsy evidence to make these examples convincing. The last section on Woolf and Mansfield was by far the best but is also the one relationship that HAS been widely discussed #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks

My #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin for January

@TheAromaofBooks

Just returned from an 8 mile walk in sun, rain and sleet (ah, Scotland, you spoil me!) So I'm settling down for an afternoon on the sofa with this one #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks