Went in completely blind. I don't know what I expected but this wasn't it -- still, I loved it to bits and plan to read it again in, oh, I don't know, thirty years or so.
Went in completely blind. I don't know what I expected but this wasn't it -- still, I loved it to bits and plan to read it again in, oh, I don't know, thirty years or so.
“Henry Lyulph Holland, first Earl of Slane, had existed for so long that the public had begun to regard him as immortal. The public, as a whole, finds reassurance in longevity, and, after the necessary interlude of reaction, is disposed to recognise extreme old age as a sign of excellence.“
#FridayReads #FirstLineFriday
After reading the nonfiction book about Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West, decided to read some of their books. So I started with this one, while I didn't love it, it was certainly interesting. I liked how Lady Slane after her husband died, moves to a rented house alone, which shocks her children no end. Not the sort of thing an older woman would be in their society.
Finished this today then went to see the final night of the Follies revival in London. Both poignantly about memory, lying to yourself a bit, and reflecting on “the road you didn‘t take.”
The title almost describes the way we feel after our flight was delayed five hours last night before American Airlines finally cancelled. Here we are at 7:30am in O‘Hare, hoping this next flight will take us to London. We‘ve lost an entire day of our already short trip, but at least we have good books to ease the pain! #wouldbejetsetters
There you go @LeahBergen My copy of All Passion Spent. US first,SunDial Press, 1931
Sometimes good stuff comes through the Book Sorting and I get it cheap. Or free, in this case, as it was PUT ON THE DISCARD PILE!!!!!
Buddy-read time with @shawnmooney 👏🏻👏🏻 (and it‘s my first time reading Vita Sackville-West).
Here goes!
Last year I read and loved Virginia Woolf's Orlando, which was inspired by Vita Sackville-West, which led me down a rabbit hole of Sackville-West's work, which led me to purchase this book. According to the blurb it is: "Irreverently funny and surprisingly moving...the story of a woman who discovers who she is just before it is too late."
#lavieboheme #musicalnewyear
@Cinfhen @vivastory
Lovely! A grand old gentle lady, at the age of 88, becomes a widow (her husband was Viceroy of India and Prime Minister) and redefines herself and her life, without reference to her children or grandchildren. She goes into an idyllic retirement in a Hampstead cottage, thinking through her history and coming to terms with it. But life has two surprises for her: a great temptation and a chance at redemption.
Lady Slane relinquished her dream of becoming an artist to marry and have 5 children with her husband, a statesman. At age 88 she is a widow and having never voiced any opinion of her own during her 70 yr marriage, her pretentious children assume she has a #holeinyoursoul and is unable to make any decisions for herself. But against their wishes, she begins a life of her own at last and her final moments brought tears to my eyes.
#abbainaugust
Enjoyable read made more so by a visit to Sissinghurst to see her writing room.
Full review is #76 of karenmartinreads.blogspot.com
From the Book Sorting today - volunteering pays off! I‘m pretty sure that‘s a first US edition of All Passion Spent (1931, Sun Dial Press.) And the Pogo! ❤️
#riotgrams a book that more people should read. Guess what, it's a #Vmc again. I read this book years ago and it was the first that made me realise that books about the inner lives of people can be as riveting as plot driven books. It also has one of my reading soft spots an elderly narrator.
When something is donated to the library and you are pretty sure you are the only person for miles around who would ever read it. Yo, Vita! #anglophilesoflitsy #librariansoflitsy
This is my stack of nightstand books at the moment. Can‘t decide what to read next! Hoping I can sleep on it and choose in the morning.
#booksonthenightstand
I've never read any Vita Sackville-West and this has a gorgeous cover so I had to get it.