Welcome to Litsy!

I‘ve not read enough this year to do a #best23of23, but here‘s a #best10of23. I didn‘t read many new releases and favourites were older books, Girls of Slender Means, Notes From an Exhibition and Daddy‘s Gone A-Hunting my top 3. Thanks for starting this off @BarbaraBB It‘s always interesting to see what everyone chooses. And, as always, thinking of you with love @Cinfhen

I love Muriel Spark‘s spikiness. Both her writing style and her character sketches have very sharp points. Here she skewers a variety of English archetypes (and fires a few passing shots at “the world of books”) as the residents of the May of Teck Club and their beaux muddle through the final months of WWII. I‘m glad I wasn‘t one of them -I‘d never have fitted into that Schiaparelli dress, let alone through the slit window🤣

Loving the fall colours 🍂🍁 And loved this book. Spark's ability to create such a vivid and compact portrait of the various inhabitants of a girls' rooming in 1945 London is astounding. There is always a surprising bite to her writing and it's here too. Between this and the Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Spark is a fascinating (and unsentimental) chronicler of girlhood. And another book for #192025 @Librarybelle

This novel explores the lives of a group of young women who live in a boarding house for “girls of slender means” in post-WWII London. Spark tackles themes of duty, politics, faith, feminism (probably more I didn‘t catch). All packed into less than 200 pages. Her style is darker and edgier than I‘m typically drawn to, but I‘m really enjoying her work.

A good month, reading-wise. My favorites were the tagged book, Mrs. Lorimer‘s Quiet Summer, and Middlemarch.
#JulyReads

This is the slimmest of books and I thought I‘d read it in a day. But the language is dense, every word matters. It ends with a BANG and honestly I can‘t recommend this enough. If you love historical fiction or vintage chic lit 🤣 I say give this a try

It‘s Friday so I‘m having dessert first

I got this title off of The Guardian‘s Queen‘s Jubilee book list from the 1962-71 category ( only other book in this category I‘ve read is A Clockwork Orange) these older titles are hard to come by. Great quote from Anne Tyler on the cover ❤️ Muriel Spark also wrote The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, which I‘ve never read or seen the movie of #queensjubileebooklist

I‘ve been reading a lot of recently published books lately so it was nice to read something older. I loved the humour, the writing (though she did repeat a lot of sentences within a paragraph - I‘m sure she did this for a reason 🤔) and the characters. Some memorable scenes and a great little novella; it could have been longer for me! ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alfie‘s grandparents always have him on a Friday & I‘m now on maternity leave so this was the obvious choice of how to spend an hour or so ❤️

I thought this was brilliant. So much pathos in such a short book. I loved her exposure of the fragility of youth heightened by war and poverty and the playfulness with time. And then the ironic tone. A gem!

"The warden drove a car as she would have driven a man had she possessed one."
Honestly, that's kind of hot. ?

This gave me absolutely nothing. If it had been longer I probably would have bailed, but as it was I kept waiting for something to happen, realized it was only 25 pages left, and willed myself to finish. I love the title and the cover though.

This holiday season, I refused to let my employees buy me anything at all. Instead, I asked them for book (or music or food) recommendations. They put together a binder full of pages like this. Result: The Christmas gift that keeps on giving and easily my favorite thing I received😍

Evening plans: Fiction & nonfiction combo platter with a side of hot buttered rum ❤️

Wow. I cannot believe it had taken me so many years to pick up Muriel Spark. I read the famous Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (never having seen the movie) and the devoured The Girls of Slender Means. The best way I can think of to describe her writing is acute. While that acuity can sometimes be cuttingly sharp, there is always a strain of compassion. Sympathetic without being in any way sentimental.

1. Found this absolutely ridiculous cactus at the thrift store that has vent holes in it so you can stuff it with pot pourri (for my cactus/ succulent loving kid.) 😂
2.Cheerios with a peach cut up into it. 🍊
3. Witty absurdist scenarios
4.Silk Schiaparelli scarf that I also found at the thrift store, for $1.25
5. 5‘1” on good days. On bad days, I slouch.

Interesting book. 3rd finished for #24in48