Paying Guests | 
I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join in if you want!
#ABookADay2023
panOk this is gonna be longer than usual.
No, I did not enjoy this- not the first half in print or the 2nd in audio but audio allowed me to sprint to the finish line.
Started end of summer last year roughly, seemed promising enough but after almost 300pp of the same BS i was BORED. THE TEDIUM. maybe this trope works for others but OMG there is only so much of this "hidden romance" I can take especially when I don't like either MC very much.??
pick
It's 1922, and Frances and her mother are in reduced circumstances following her father's death, and obliged to take in a young couple "of the clerk class". A passionate love ensues. The period detail appears spot on, and the characters are human and believable in their predicament.
Perhaps a little slow-moving for some tastes, but by the halfway mark I was totally caught up in the story and finished the last 150 pages at a sitting.
pickSarah Water's creates such wonderful character based historical stories + this is in the best tradition of the classic 1920s domestic crime/court room drama. Here a mother + her adult daughter take in a yng married couple to lodge in their home. Quickly Frances +the wife lilian become v close (in the classic sarah water sense)+ tensions rise as the marriage creaks as well as erotic tension mounts.Loved this which captures time and place perfectly
It is so rare for me these days to read a PHYSICAL book. It's not that I don't have time. I can binge watch shows while mindlessly scrolling on insta so why don't I read? Good question. Tonight, with the dog firmly planted I've decided to finally jump into this one.
It's Bookspin time! 💕💕💕
No Bingos for January but I read quite a few chunky books and it was a good start for the year.
My favourite book by Sarah Waters is The Night Watch followed by Fingersmith. She‘s totally my jam even though I just noticed that her books aren‘t very popular on Litsy. Any other Sarah Waters fans out there?
#currentlyreading #friyay
I'm posting one book per day from the ever growing unread stacks in my personal library. No description or explanation, just books I own and plan to read. #tbr
Day 32
pickIt took awhile to get into this one - the first 200 pages definitely could have been edited down significantly. It does pick up eventually and the last half of the book made it worth it. The writing was amazing though. You get such a sense of the atmosphere of post-WWI London. Tension and lies, on both a large and small scale, are huge themes in this book and are exquisitely wrought. A great psychological study. Will be reading more by Waters.
pickIndulged myself in some very long reading periods over the last couple of days. And thus I've finished this book.
I got quite attached to Frances and Lily 😊 and found both of them equally brilliant yet frustrating women who seem unable to stick to their convictions. Totally understandable in many ways, given the era.
I thought the storyline was very enticing, kept me guessing until the final sentence. Whilst there were some real stereotypes
Half way through and thoroughly enjoying both the writing and the storyline 😊😊😚😚
My choice for January book club. I figured I'd best pick something from my towering TBR pile 🤣😂.
So this is my book.
I've read another by Waters and wasn't that thrilled. This one seems to be more appealing.
In other news.... it's Friday. Hurrah!!!
Having my broken oven looked at again, by a friend, this afternoon... please think positive thoughts...😊🙄😘
pickI love how the author set the stage of 1922 London and could draw into the story easily. I enjoyed the different plots and the complexity of the characters. However 560 pages was a stretch. Would have loved it to be at least 200 pages less
The second time I‘ve used a Sarah Waters novel for #tropesinaugust. 😀 Frances and her mother are forced to take in a young married couple as “paying guests” (lodgers) to make ends meet in interwar London. Upper class Frances becomes friends with the wife, working class Lillian. Soon their friendship develops into something more, a #forbiddenromance...
so-soI‘ve wanted to read Sarah Waters for ages & finally got to this, but it wasn‘t for me. It‘s well observed & you cringe at the Englishness of it all (the dithering, politeness & class boundaries). Compulsive reading - I kept going to see what would happen. But the characters annoyed me hugely & the tone was too gushy for me. The romance was so overwrought, the dramatic twist felt over the top & was drawn out. What should seem fresh felt staid.
I'm guessing this is my #santathing - thanks to whoever sent it - I'm looking forward to all 3!
#MayMovieMagic #YouGiveMeSomething This is the only book I could find that seemed to fit ... 🙃kind of. I loved the book 👍🏻♥️
$1.99 ebook today!
Hey, if you love the idea of deeply convincing historical fiction about the lives of ordinary British women just after WWI, which veers slowly into a gorgeous lesbian romance, and (I haven‘t reached this part yet, but according to the reviews) then transforms into a murder mystery—well, you will adore this magnificent novel as much as I do. I‘m only halfway through, so don‘t tell me how it ends!
pickI‘m impressed by Sarah Waters‘ range as a writer. Sure, like Fingersmith, this book was suspenseful and almost horror-like in its close perspective and there were elements of lesbian romance in a historical context. But it certainly stands on its own as a riveting story and impassioned character study. I didn‘t love this book, but listening to Juliet Stevenson‘s narration was a delight. Waters‘ writing is gorgeous and her dialogue is excellent.
On a gorgeous #audiowalk this morning with Francis & Lillian. My, but this book is a slow burn!
I got new headphones and they‘ve changed the audiobook experience utterly. This is me #audiocooking while listening to a particularly blushing part of the tagged book. I had to put down my peeler! 😳
Moray, you are absolutely right—Juliet Stevenson is a brilliant narrator. I‘ve become lost in the story!
It‘s the perfect chilly day for a cup of earl grey and some #audiocrochet. And for rhyming, too, apparently.
When you go home with more books than you left at your friend's house.....
#blamelitsy and specifically @LeahBergen who put the idea into my head. 📚😎😄😉😂 #sorrynotsorry
Thank you @Trashcanman for very generous #justabook stack! I look forward to enjoying these books this winter. In the meantime, I‘m enjoying the maple leaves. Thanks @TheBookKeepers for arranging this swap.
Well, this book just took an appropriately dark turn for the first of October. It was Mrs Barber in the parlour with an ashtray 😱
And some incongruously lovely palm trees in the background 😂🌴
My Thai tea count is at 4 for the week and I have no regrets except that that number isn't higher 😅
pick5 Stars ! Really great storytelling... looking forward to more S Waters. 👍🏻❤️
Sarah Waters has been on my tbr for ages (ever since @Mollyegutman recommended her to me). Finally starting with The Paying Guests
I have to say , reading this book last night & any opportunity I get today. It‘s my second S. Waters , but I can honestly say I‘ve never felt more comfortable & completely content with any other writing. I‘m in the present with this book ... it‘s a wonderful experience..
“ There had been a pearl brooch on her lapel, and one of her gloves had had a rip in it, showing the pink palm underneath. My heart fell out of me and into that rip .... “ ❤️
Next up : I‘m afraid there is nothing else for it ... a second helping of Sarah Waters please. (Really loved The Little stranger) ❤️❤️❤️
I've a very long train ride before me and a big fat novel to keep me company.
Slightly artsier September tbr photo from bookstagram because I couldn't resist.
I‘ve been thinking a lot about language and its relationship to detail and violence. Both The Paying Guests and Angela Carter‘s “The Bloody Chamber” depict violence and gore at a microscopic level of detail, but that close eye seems inextricable from the lush, twisty prose with which both stories are told.
pickI enjoyed this love story that turns into a crime story, although tbh I've had enough lesbian sex scenes to last me a while! 😊 At times I just wanted it to end as it was stressing me out, but well written and emotionally rich.
pickFinished up at the pool 👙. I grabbed this at the library, not seeing much I wanted (they have a pitiful selection of books I might like to read- but a shit ton of Amish novels 🙄). I was drawn to its length (I love a chunkster) but I felt like this could have been about 200 pages shorter. I liked it, but I‘m ready to move on to The Summer Wives.
About 150 pages left and wondering how things are going to turn out... Man, my youngest has a gift for being awake at the stroke of 6:00 on a Sunday right now! We're having some "real" winter (for Pretoria) right now and I already can't wait for spring ????
I have to be people-y today so while Anthony sleeps in a bit more, I need to read with coffee before the festivities can commence. My #fancy mug was my birthday gift from my son. #heatofjuly
I just dripped from my cup (condensation) into a library book! I feel like a horrible book lover. In my defense, I was startled that when I shifted from my position in the local bar booth, my shoulder was stuck to the wall. Fucking small towns. Why can‘t we have nice things? I shouldn‘t stick to the wall.
My print read should really be to finish Mr Biswas, but I was somehow intrigued by this Sarah Waters my sister loaned me YEARS ago. I didn't realise it was HF and so far I'm really enjoying it!
The final purchase of my used book store trip in Philly. 💖
Having the absolute laziest day and loving it. Busy with chores yesterday and have rewarded myself by reading this lovely book all day. After two bailed books, I am so happy to settle in with Sarah Waters.
so-soI am giving this a so-so because of the second half of the book which drags on and on and because of the the ending. The first half, however, is excellent! The attraction between the two main characters is palpable, the description of the house, the endless chores, the dull life that Frances is trapped in, it's wonderfully written. Sadly, the second half was just a rushing through it to see how it ends.
