Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own | 
Well, I finished two short reads yesterday (Lilla and The Selfish Giant) and DNFed my #bookspin We Are Not From Here. It was too much for me emotionally. I have three in progress for buddy reads and now need to pick my next read. I think it‘s between Murder on the Orient Express, Stuff, and Fast Food Nation.
#Two4Tuesday
1) Sometimes a title does pull me in, especially if it‘s non-fiction or memoir that interests me. Fiction is a little trickier in that a title does not always attract me to the book- more often a cover does.
2) The tagged book I enjoyed.
Want to play @Nute @katy4peas @Tamra ?
#7Days7Books Day 1
For the next 7 days, I will post book each day that remains in my mind, because it touched me and changed me. No further comments!
I was supposed to go see Dashboard Confessional tonight, but it's suddenly very cold outside, work has been quite draining lately, and I just want to hermit at home with my slothfriends and my pile o' books. I started Spinster a long while back and loved it but never finished the final ninety pages, so I'm jumping back in. Might watch some The Haunting of Hill House, Nos4a2, or Shrill later and make some tea, too. Perfect evening. ❄🤩🍵
#ThisOnesForTheGirls who choose to live on their own, who enjoy the single life. It‘s hard for people I know, especially family, to understand my choice to remain single. I‘ve had boyfriends; I‘ve been on dates. For awhile, I felt that there must be something wrong with me - if everyone else thinks I need someone, why do I not think the same thing? Then, I read this book. It‘s exactly what I needed. #LilithJuly
Thanks ladies for a fun month!
My little #bookhaul from today, wandering the neighbourhood for the community garage sale and of course a stop at the library book sale.
I‘m looking forward to rereading The Telling if Lies. A high school read and I remember being driven crazy by the teacher and all the symbolism talk. I just kept thinking, what if the author just liked the colour green, and didn‘t mean anything else when using it?!? 🤷🏻♀️ We‘ll see how I feel about that now.
pickThis is both memoir and well-researched non-fiction in combo. I enjoyed both Bolick‘s story and her retelling of the stories of other women.
pick3.5 ⭐️
Full review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25982575
Overall, I recommend this one. You‘ll get to know some women who laid some groundwork for us; see what a modern writer‘s life is like; and watch a woman chart her own course.
But I still say Girl Bachelor is better than Spinster, & I‘m keeping it 😜
Uhhhmmmm... way too close to home
😮🤷🏻♀️🤣
Bolick unearths the term “Girl Bachelor” from the turn of the last century, which was usurped by “New Woman.”
But in reading passages like this, it‘s much more apropos than “Spinster.”
I‘m bringing it back. I‘m a Girl Bachelor, and I‘m not touching a single dish tonight.
pick⭐⭐⭐⭐ This is part memoir and part a history of women and spinsterhood. I really liked this book, particularly the first half or so. There is a lot of history on her five literary heroes which was interesting to hear about. Bolick does only discuss one side of women's history, one that is of white women that largely come from some privilege, but she does at least address that she is not going into the poor or women of color.
#Audiobooking while watching my toddler and dog run in the backyard 🌞
In my pre-Litsy days, I inundated my FB friends with bookish quotes. A favorite of mine popped up in memories this morning.
I thought I‘d share a peek into my #bujo today! Every 6 months I like to do a check in to really look at what I‘ve been reading. 📚
I don‘t love writing reviews online, so I write a quick review of each book directly in my bullet journal. I keep thinking of starting a separate journal for just bookishness, but then my bullet journal would be so boring!
#HumpDayPost
1) this is a beautiful but crazy mishmash of a fountain in Tampa. No pics of doing crazy things, sorry!
2)I had coffee & lemon/lavender scone in Lee, MA.
3) Authors as Mentors
4) sticky notes
5)5‘ 1”
Only on page 123 -so far these are all the authors mentioned in various contexts. Essayists, magazine free lance writers, novelists, poets, historians, newspaper reporters, editors- cannot list them all here so will add names to comments. Some are familiar, some not, so I am looking up many etc.
Edna St. Vincent Millay
Maeve Brennan
Neith Boyce
Edith Wharton
Charlottle Perkins Gilman
Mary McCarthy
Doris Lessing
Stephanie Coontz
BettyFriedan
Kate Bolick and her mother, Nancy O‘Keefe Bolick on Kate‘s first day of kindergarten. Her mother died of breast cancer at age of 52 when Kate was 23. This article Kate wrote is both informative & heartbreaking.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/afterlives-my-m...
#Day2Vacation
Finally feel its vacation!Now that a major screw up with our school districts payroll is resolved-no paycheck was deposited Friday, no balloon check, no stipends,I can speak about it.As you can imagine, this created havoc for so many, including me. All kinds of errors on deductions & benefit amounts. Needless to say, working with union all weekend.Thank God we have one!!!!
Enjoying this book. A slow read as I am looking so much up!
#awakeners.
After her mother died the author tried to use the lives of literary models to remap her life. As she said, she was a talker & continued her conversations with her mother through these women. Neith Boyce was born in 1872 to a bookish family & became a columnist in NYC.Neith did not like Boston but Loved NYC, like the author. A kindred spirit.
Just 38 pages in & totally engaged. Author borrowed the term “awakeners”from Edith Wharton . Bolick seeks to recreate her conversations with her mother, who died when the author was 23 of breast cancer,with these chosen “ awakeners”: poet Edna Millay,essayist Maeve Brennan,columnist Neith Boyce,novelist Edith Wharton ,& social visionary Charlotte Perkins Gilman. “I encountered each awakener at a different stage in my coming of age as an adult”-KB
#WaitingonRain #WednesdayEvening #Porchlife #PorchReading
Taking a short break before going to do school work. Waiting for huge rainstorm headed our way. But for now, breeze and birdsong. Quieting the mind.
#heyjune
#ifeelfine
“In Ancient Rome, there were several Vestal Virgins at any time guarding the sacred fire of Vesta... Each was tapped for the priesthood before puberty and sworn to celibacy for thirty years. Once she‘d fulfilled her service...she was given a pension and was free to do whatever she wanted, even marry. Marriage to a former Vestal was a coveted status symbol.”
Great. Even the Vestals needed marriage to have status.
pickInitially drawn to the title and cover, I really enjoyed this book that explores the author's and society's conceptions around the institution of marriage. She compares her experiences with those of her mother's as well as five other artists' from earlier eras. Of course, single women may get the most out of this book, but I've been married for many years now and found much to learn, interest, and ponder.
I read this a few years ago. It introduced me to some amazing female writers. Today, I wrote about one of them for my #WomensHistoryMonth blog project: http://bit.ly/whm18NeithBoyce
In this partial memoir, Bolick talks about the possibilities beyond the marriage-and-baby path, and explores if a woman can still be happy and build a rich life alone. Definitely not #polyesterbride material.
#fiercefeb @Cinfhen @batsy
Spent the day apartment hunting and now I‘m just plain furious. I‘m ready to spit. I make more than the average person in my field and at my age. WHY CANT I AFFORD A DECENT 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬 APARTMENT?!
Sorry.
SN: I got no reading done today because of the above. Ugh.
pickI'm happily married, which is why I put off reading this for so long! But this book is for everyone. Bolick's personal journey of historical and self-discovery is compelling, eye-opening, & a joy to read. I love books that encourage living intentionally. Spinster will make you think hard not only about what you take for granted about relationships or what your own needs are for independence, but also about grief, art, & what we give our lives to.
pickI loved this book. As a singleton (the name I've been calling myself) I needed a book like this one.
How much did I enjoy this book? I originally borrowed it from the library but will definitely be purchasing a hard copy to have forever!
Today is a great day to finish this really great book! It's a little colder today, definitely dreary and I felt a few sprinkles while walking Bleecker (who again, is currently residing under the blanket ).
#Bleeckersays Mom, you're not fat, you're puggy! Get off that treadmill! I don't like it! #pugsoflitsy #mamawantssomewine
#Bleeckersays Thanks for sending everyone home mom. Now let's just relax! #pugsoflitsy #introverting
so-soI loved hearing about all the wonderful women writers and activists, but didn‘t care to hear the authors personal stories. #riotgrams a day late: books and beverage. At my favourite local coffee place a while back.
so-soMeh, I wasn't crazy about this book. The discussion of women from history that she looked up to and were influenced by was interesting and well written. When she talked about herself? Yeah, wasn't into that.
A little quiet porch time before bed. Enjoying this book more than I expected to.
pickDefinitely a case of right book at the right time for me. So much of this resonated with me even though my experience is basically the opposite of the author's. I was expecting many a-ha moments, and they did come but they were not the ones I was expecting to have. Overall, a great reflection piece for me. It also extended my TBR exponentially - she discusses many fascinating women writers whose works I am now dying to delve into!
#junebookbugs day 4 #allthesingleladies Spinster on my TBR.Shout out to Miss Marple who filled those unmarried days unraveling murders while seldom dropping a stitch.
I bought this last year, but haven't gotten around to reading it yet. I thought it fit today's prompt perfectly! #allthesingleladies #day4 #junebookbugs
Had get my own copy!!!! This book is going get highlighted af haha
#spinster #katebolick
Omg I can't put it down!!!!
Super excited to jump into this one!!!
