Welcome to Litsy!

I always find planning to read from my own TBR stacks somehow a little imperfect, but that‘s what I did here.

As a recreation of 1954/55 South Kensington and London‘s publishing world, this is something of a masterpiece. I‘m clueless about South Kensington, but it wasn‘t the ritzy place in the 1950‘s that it is today. The short book is little slow in its plot line. But it vividly recreates a textured populated world and has a dark charm.

We‘re working very hard on my unexpected day off. Started a new book today, attacking that TBR thingy.

More photos from Otautahi Christchurch - botanical gardens… daffodils are out!
This book was a delight. My 2nd Spark novel; this one more humorous than The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie but it still has a dark undercurrent & she still skewers a few personality types with sharp descriptions. It also reminded me of Excellent Women & Lolly Willowes in that I love a woman who, despite appearances, refuses to stay in the box she‘s expected to fit in!

A lovely spot to read for an hour in the Spring sunshine - and a lovely book to read. This is Victoria Square in Otautahi, Christchurch.

I couldn't decide between these three stellar novels that start with the #LetterF. ?
A Far Cry from Kensington - a sharp funny novel about publishing & publishers (and more!)
The Fire-Dwellers - another Laurence, this time contemplating the realities of "happily ever after."
Fleishman is in Trouble - a contemporary look at marriage (and divorce) in Manhattan
Thanks for the tag @robinb
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

More excellent advice from Mrs. Hawkins. 😁

This book is a hoot. Mrs.Hawkins is fount of good advice. (Although truth be told, not sure a cat has ever helped me write. 😸)

Carrying on with more Muriel Spark!
In other news, feeling very relieved that Wallace the cat came home after being outside all day. We were worried!

'Piseur de copie' is the insult that nancy Hawkins,editor throws at hector bartlett budding essayist+ their feud is at the centre of this novel which highlights, for me, the joy of reading muriel spark. The picture of 1950's post war London is so well drawn and the characters are comic and sad in equal measure. She captures so well loneliness, but also the joy of interaction of people with a dark humour that I love. A miss brodie reread is due.

I‘m giving this a pick, even though I wasn‘t really that interested in the story itself. However, I was interested in Mrs. Hawkins, her musings and reflections, her honesty and the wry, sarcastic tone of the book. I‘ll definitely read more books by Muriel Spark 🙌

#YouNeverCanTell when it is the right time to start a book. I started this 4 months ago, read 20 pages, was bored to tears and sure I would hate it. So I put it down, and haven‘t been motivated to pick it up again. That is‘ until yesterday, where I read 120 pages in the blink of an eye, and enjoyed every second of it! Perfect example that every book has its time to be read 👌

#MayMovieMagic

Coming at the end of a Spark binge (Girls of Slender Means, Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Memento Mori) it‘s striking how different this one is. It‘s darker (although that shouldn‘t be surprising) than the bubbly back cover would suggest.

Just starting but I‘m struck by how exactly the description of Molly‘s house reminds me of the house I used to stay in in Acton in my researching days.

My very modest #bookhaul after my day spent on a used-book-crawl 👌 I couldn‘t pass up the VMC designer classic, and I have wanted to read Station Eleven for such a long time!

I even found a lot of #FolioSociety editions of Dickens‘ novels, but they were too expensive for me at the moment. But September and payday isn‘t that far away. Or, at least I try to tell myself that 😄😄

Kitty with my Kindle! I love the novels of Muriel Spark. This is one of her best ones - sharp, smart, and honest. I enjoyed spending time with Mrs. Hawkins and following her adventures in post-war publishing. Those adventures are rivaled only by her involvement in the lives of her neighbors. A short and bittersweet read.

HAD to share this podcast episode with my all my podcast loving Litsy friends... Anyone who is a fan of tv show ‘Qi‘ may love it too..... Tuesday‘s episode of A Good Read (under the BBC Books and Authors podcast title) is so fun! There is a delightful discussion of the tagged book, picked by host Harriet and discussed with so much joy with Stephen Fry and Alan Davies... Can‘t wait to read it now!

#Londoncalling #rockinmay
I found a few London books. One, crash, brilliant but very shocking, end of the affair i bought to reread, far cry from Kensington is another purchase to reread, and of course one of my favourite books tinker tailor.

Ok I know I'm a day late on collections, but I'm also super in love with my Muriel Spark collection. I'm only missing a few titles! ❤️