Twain's End | 
pick#TwainsEnd #LynnCullen #BookSpinBingo
In March of 1909, Mark Twain cheerfully blessed the wedding of his private secretary, Isabel V. Lyon, and his business manager, Ralph Ashcroft. One month later, he fired both. He proceeded to write a ferocious 429-page rant about the pair, calling Isabel “a liar, a forger, a thief, a hypocrite, a drunkard, a sneak, a humbug, a traitor, a conspirator, a filthy-minded and salacious slut pining for seduction.”
The fact that i got to chapter 20 and never picked this book up again 😐 i was so close to finishing it ... now i have to start over 😓
so-soHistorical fiction-esque. Interesting characters and an interesting storyline in theory...but it seemed to drag on forever and struggled to keep my attention.
Winding down for the night with a good book and some cozy chipmunk PJs!
#AutumnReads #Day17 #BookAndPJs
Honestly partly bought this for it's gorgeous cover but still a great find at $1 at the library!
so-soEnjoyed this buddy read with @Lynnsoprano (check her review also). For me, this is between a pick and so-so. It bothered me how Helen Keller was depicted: vacant-eyed (well she couldn't see!) and a voice that annoyed Clara (Twain's daughter, who I was surprised to find was the least sympathetic character in this novel). Love triangles galore, including one with Helen in it (I was already aware). I'm unsure what purpose it served to include hers.
pickThis was the first buddy read that I've ever done, with @ValerieAndBooks . I enjoyed the experience and the book. It had an almost unfinished feeling to it, yet I think that's to be expected, given that Isabel Lyon never spoke out and told her side of the story. There aren't many sympathetic characters here. I felt the author did a good job of portraying the Clemens/Twain dichotomy. Who was he in a given situation? #LetterT for #LitsyAtoZ
Hmm. 🤔. Mr. Gabrilowitsch goes up with a hot water bottle, then shows up a few hours later with an ice bag? (It's winter time, BTW). I feel like the book is rushing to its conclusion (~50 pages left) and thus the mistakes in the details here. And on the same page of the ice bag, Francis Bacon's first name is misspelled Frances. @Lynnsoprano
Typo alert...surprising, considering that this is a paperback edition and could have been corrected in this, a later, edition. Last name should be Key, not Keyes. This is historical fiction, but still...
Trixie, our grandkitty, is curious about the baby, but is happy to have lots of company willing to pet her. Being able to step on a book and a Kindle at the same time is a bonus😊 #kittenlitten
The baby is off for her first checkup with the pediatrician, hubby and I have assembled the bounce seat, and I finally get a little reading time.
So behind on #Litsy! Several reviews to do but they'll probably wait until next week. This week is spring break for my college kids, among other things. Meanwhile doing this buddy read with @Lynnsoprano . Not bad so far (@Ch. 3) but a bit tired of Clemens/Twain constantly being referred to as The King (his secretary's nickname for him). My reading progress may be a bit slow until next week, but Lynn, don't slow down for my sake 😊
Just started this, and I'm hooked after two chapters. My first buddy read, with @ValerieAndBooks I'm somewhat familiar with Twain's biography, so I know he was a man with a lot of flaws. It will be interesting to see how close the author's portrayal of him will follow the facts.
⭐⭐⭐ I'm sad that I read this because now my image of Mark Twain is forever tainted. I never knew he was such an unlikable jerk (who loved little girls perhaps a tad too much and was incentivized by money more than I ever knew). I also failed to see what his secretary ever saw in him to be attracted to him. This just wasn't an enjoyable reading experience for me ☹️#litsyatoz
This book is giving me mixed feelings about Mark Twain 😬
I didn't get to actually finish much in February so my #marchtbr is focused on finishing up on all of my current reads. #marchintoreading
#MarchTBR My TBR for this month is leftovers from February, plus one new book. February was a woeful reading month for me: only finished three books. What I'm most looking forward to this month is a buddy read of Twain's End with @ValerieAndBooks And I have to finish the Shakespeare today or tomorrow, since we see it Friday. But I'm on the last scene, which I think is longer than the first two acts combined 🙄 #marchintoreading
Husband: "Which church service do you want to go to?"
Me: "The 9."
Me at 9: "Let's go to the 11."
Me at 11: "There's a 1 o'clock we can go to."
Husband at 1: "Are you still in your pjs?"
I think I have this on my #litzyatoz list - need to read it within the next couple of days before it's due back at the library 😀
Writing out bookish lists with this one and a half off bag of Christmas candy
#seasonsreadings2016 Relaxing on Boxing Day and watching the premiere league soccer marathon. This is a compilation of #bookishgifts in our house, including my #secretsantagoespostal books from @ValerieAndBooks , the book I received from @Ambrosnazzy , and the books I gave my husband, including the cookbook. I added the bracelet even though it's not bookish, because the underside of the charm says "unexpected miracles." Litsy is one for me?
#secretsantagoespostal. Wow! Thank you @ValerieAndBooks for a fabulous Secret Santa gift--not one, but THREE books, all of which look fascinating. Hard to decide which I'll start with, but I may have to fight my husband for Twain's End, as carefully as he was studying it😊 Your card was beautiful. I appreciate your thoughtfulness and generosity. Did I say thank you?
pickI absolutely love how well developed Lynn Cullen's characters are! I can't say I enjoyed Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain as he come off as a hypocritical and viciously prideful man, however the story feels real and raw which I appreciate.
A #shelfie pic! I made a post a couple weeks ago showing off the hoard of books on my and @BookBabe 's #schoolmarm desk. A lot of Litsy-ers wanted better detail since I took that picture from a distance in order to get the scope of it all. So, this morning I took some close-ups. Here is slightly less than one-half of the middle shelf. Any titles here you've read? Any you want to read? Most are hers that I've gotten her for special occasions 😊.
Mrs. Poe was AWESOME, so I'm so excited to read this one! Even better that the author sent it to me!
Based on Isabel Lyon‘s extant diary, Twain‘s writings, letters, photographs, and events in Twain‘s boyhood that may have altered his ability to love, Twain‘s End triumphs as “a tender evocation of a vain, complicated man‘s twilight years and a last chance at love” 2y