Welcome to Litsy!

This hefty and magical work of literary fantasy is a masterpiece.

Full of atmospheric moments, superior world building, gorgeous prose, and wry Georgian character, Norrell and Strange exudes quality from every pore.

Unarguably a slow burn, this book will linger in the mind long after reading.

I hit a massive reading slump around page 700, but it picked up again by the end, and I will never forget Norrell or Strange in all their eccentricity!

How is a magician to exist without books? Let someone explain *that* to me. It is like asking a politician to achieve high office without the benefit of bribes or patronage.

Finding this an odd read. I'm not exactly bored, but there's such a remove from all the characters that I have no one to be interested in. It's like reading a moderately entertaining history book.

#DoubleSpin

Did not occur to me that there might be long waits for this 20 year old book, so I'm pretty late starting. #DoubleSpin

Rae meets Susanna Clarke.

Photos weren't allowed, but the talk was fascinating. She was in convo with Rev. Richard Coles.

Found out that she once lived in Southwell. REPRESENT!!!!!!!! 🥰🥰🥰

I'm still only halfway through this wonderful and expansive book, but it's spellbinding and I love it.

#WickedWhispers #Cadaver @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@Eggs

I am loving this so far! And they've just mentioned my little town 🥰🥰🥰

New acquisitions!

#two4tuesday

🍎

I‘m making very slow progress through the tagged book - sometimes on my phone, sometimes on my kindle.

😝 I am enjoying the undercurrent of humour in this book - keeps me going!

But also, if you break into a house via the pantry window… you might as well help yourself to pie and cheese!

Got through a couple of chapters while waiting for The Last Dinner Party to start… I‘m not a huge fan of general admission (especially when the venue gets changed - general admission at the Forum is fine but I really couldn‘t see much at Festival Hall) but despite seemingly being surrounded by the tallest people in Melbourne- it was a brilliant show! (I‘m concerned about international acts enthusiasm for the shoey tho… just say NO!)

14 hours and 55 minutes left in book 😮

Thanks for the tag @The_Penniless_Author 🙏

1. I think young me would have liked to be a flying horse.

2. The tagged book has fairies, which I don‘t want to be because they‘re kinda mean. 🧚

#Two4Tuesday

#freebiefriday #litsylove

Favorite chunkster….I love a good chunkster! Favorites include the Outlander series, Paradise…probably my most recent favorite chunkster read was Johnathan Strange & Mr. Norrel. It was about 1,000 pages, a book club pick, and I didn‘t expect to like it. I ended up loving it! ❤️📚

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Read4life @TieDyeDude

12-28 Feb 24 (audiobook)
Not for me. I battled my way through this for over two weeks and really not sure why I persisted. It seemed to go forever, made worse by the fact that I kept tuning out or falling asleep and having to rewind.
Whilst it was probably well-written, I have now concluded that Clarke‘s books are not for me.

Fourth time attempting to read this and this time is the charm. I am finally engrossed in it at 100 pages in on kindle(not sure what this equates to in paper pages). Probably enjoying this more because I‘ve been reading a bunch of McCammon‘s Matthew Corbett series this year and I like the historical part of it, but this blends that with magic.

#JonathanStrangeandMrNorrell #SusannaClarke #ebook #kindle

I tried to do a #bookerdozen @vivastory , but out of the ones I've read (18 + 2 bails), these 3 are the only ones that stood out. There's plenty more of them on the list that I want to read eventually, though 😂😂😂!

I really enjoyed this book. It‘s written as if it were a biography of two magicians who restored English magic; it even has footnotes. I‘m tempted to say it‘s too long, but I was never bored, so it‘s probably just right. Neither Strange nor Norell are particularly nice people, but I don‘t need everyone to be likeable. I‘m really glad I finally read this book. #audiowalk

I‘ve got less than 2 hours left in this book, so I should be finished tomorrow. At 32 hours, it‘s the longest book I‘ve listened to or read in a while. The audiobook of Stephen King‘s Fairy Tale (which is the longest book I‘ve read this year) is 24 hours and 6 minutes. #audiowalk

Finally got our Christmas tree today. Tomorrow we will decorate it. Christmas is in a week. Yikes! #audiowalk

I only have 8 hours and 50 minutes left in this 32 hr and 29 min audiobook! Yay! It‘s due back to the library in 6 days — I shouldn‘t have to renew it. Mr. Norell is an egotistical snake! #audiowalk

That Mr. Norell is a piece of work! I‘m feeling better after being sick from the vaccines, so I got in some walks today. #audiowalk

Busy day today — doctor‘s appointment, 4 vaccines, some shopping, and the museum of art‘s reception downtown which featured 3 of my daughter‘s pieces. I‘m surprised I was able to fit in a walk. I‘m so tired now & don‘t know if it‘s from the busy day, the vaccines, or both. This is a long book but it looks like I‘m about halfway through. #audiowalk

I‘m really liking the writing and the world building in this book. I do wish there was a little more explanation of how the magic works; I seem to remember it being more specific in the show. That‘s a minor issue though. #audiowalk

Finally, Jonathan Strange shows up somewhere besides the footnotes! Almost 8 hours in. That live oak at the bottom is Duffie Oak in Mobile; it‘s supposed to be one of the oldest trees in the US. It was almost cut down years ago for an apartment complex, but neighbors protested and it was saved. #audiowalk

This feels like what a fantasy novel written by Dickens would be like. I really like it so far. I‘m glad I finally chose to listen to it. #audiowalk

I‘ve always wanted to read this, but the print in my hardback copy is so tiny that I was intimidated. Audio seems the way to go. So far, I really like it, but I expected to because I loved the tv series. #audiowalk

A reread comfort read that I adored even more than the first time. It's such an engaging story with a wonderful, eccentric cast of characters. Equal parts are gothic, creepy and hilarious. Mr Norrell is one of my all-time favourite characters. 5⭐️

#20in4 #RushReadathon @Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES

#NovelNovember readathon roundup.

📖 Bailed on Pym. I love her writing but didn't take to the characters.
📖 Kept up with #NaturaLitsy reading of The Secret Garden.
📖 750 pages of J S & Mr Norrell. Hope to finish this today as I can not stop reading it.
📖 Starting The glass blowers and Our darkest night after Norrell.
📖 I got distracted by Bret Easton Ellis's collection of essays White and History Hit's series on Napolean.
@Andrew65

This guy and his books. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I'm thoroughly enjoying revisiting this old favourite. I had forgotten how funny it is.

Mr Norrell has to be one of the best characters in English literature imo. Eddie Marsan did a magnificent job bringing him to life in the BBC adaptation.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jonathan-Strange-Mr-Norrell/dp/B00Y1PPAHIhickleberrypun...

Oh, hello, old friend 😍
I have a stinking cold and feeling sorry for myself. So, a day of comfort, it is.
Favourite book ✔️
Cat ✔️
Herbal tea ✔️
Blankets✔️

Have a great Saturday x

‘I have been many things since last we met. I have been trees and rivers and hills and stones. I have spoken to stars and earth and wind. One cannot be the conduit through which all English magic flows and still be oneself.‘

5 ⭐️

While there are aspects of this novel that make it an impressive accomplishment, it's not for me. I remain grateful to any work that helps me fine tune my reading tastes. Not only do I have it further confirmed that books which are either set in a historical time period or written in a style of a novel from an earlier time are rarely hits for me, I've got fresh evidence that I don't really enjoy books focused on the learning & practice of magic.

Cats: judging you for your own good.😆😾🐈‍⬛

Self burn? ?
"... novelists were quite another..." ??

Painful authenticity added by mentioning the version where it's a group of persecuted women who leave the traditional domestic sphere is the less popular version of the story. 😑

Getting some real Gollum/Bilbo with the One Ring vibes here...my precious...📚

Don't mess with a French figurehead! 😄

Keeping with my theme from last week‘s #weirdwordwednesday I love this one too! though it might be a tad too pretentious sounding to actually use, even in writing, (kinda a thing with this book if I remember 😆) #weirdwords @CBee

Abandoned halfway through.

I was going to check this out from my library because I had it tagged in Libby as a potential read but when I saw it was almost 900 pages, I went with the kindle version instead to save my hands
I'm no stranger to big books and I love them, but my arthritic hands do not any more.. so kindle version won out this time.

I was told by a online stranger that this is a REALLY good book, so here we are.

#bigbook #npr100sff

I‘m left with mixed feelings. I‘ve tried & failed to read both the print & audio versions before, but the combo worked. All the complaints I usually hear about this are completely true, but they‘re also integral to the tone and atmosphere the author is trying to convey. Anything singular always pleases me, so this is a pick, but I couldn‘t decide if I wanted it to meander along forever or hurry up & get to the point. #Booked2023 #GaslampFantasy

So not the book I thought I‘d learn useful facts from! I remember hearing this term for the first time when I was around 8 years old and desperately wondering what it had to do with 🦍. But I wasn‘t the type of child who asked my parents stuff and this was before the internet, so until I got to this footnote today it never occurred to me to look it up 😂

This was not worth the 1000 pages and 2 months it took me to read this. I wanted so desperately to like this book, but neither the plot nor the characters were at all appealing enough to keep me. Clarke mimicked 19th century style writing (which she did well) and it‘s a very “tell not show” style with flat characters. It can work for a shorter book, but it‘s a slog for 1000 pages. I would have DNFed this, but, of course, book club 😕

Well I‘m feeling rather pleased with myself. I am planning to read mainly from shelf/kindle next year. This is my #booked2023 physical TBR - I had so many that fit the brief! And I also have a couple on my kindle. I‘m just filling out my StoryGraph prompts so I don‘t forget what‘s what! Very excited to get going but first I need to finish up #booked2022 😂