Welcome to Litsy!

Finished this month‘s stories, and they each reflect WWII in a different way.

In Letters, a writer‘s home is obliterated in the blitz, and she couldn‘t save her most precious items. In House, a son reflects on what drove his parents apart. In Decision, a man working in England gets news a friend died in the Italian theater, and it changes the way he sees himself. In Sit, two Canadian women give a German family payback for treating them rudely.

I‘m really enjoying working my way through this 2nd collection of stories from Persephone.

Whipple is delightful, and in After Tea, a teenager looking to break free from her parents gets the shock of her life. In Monsieur Rose, the horror of evacuating war-torn France is brought home. Benson writes beautifully about a Black woman from the Great Migration feeling at home in NYC. In Frowning, a woman breaks away from an ungrateful employer.

My four short stories this month come from the Second Persephone book of them.

WWI is often subsumed into the second one, so it was interesting to read about a woman reflecting on death on Armistice Day in the 1930s.

Thunder Shower I didn‘t get. 🤷🏻‍♀️

In The Exile, a niece finds quite a surprise when she travels to visit her uncle‘s grave in China.

Safety Zone was a beautiful four-page story about welcoming Jewish refugees to America.

This is actually the second book of short stories (132), and I am loving it so far! Each month I‘m trying to read four stories from one of my anthologies.

Sharp‘s story about an annoyingly persistent man trying to flirt and mansplain on a bus could have easily been written today. The spinster aunt in Bedquilt made my heart swell and break simultaneously. Ball wasn‘t memorable. Wife was very modern in its depiction of divorce and domestic ennui.

October

I read the first half of this wonderful collection, spanning 1909-1938. (I always planned to divide it at WWII.) My favorite stories were the first, “From A to Z,” and of course, the Dorothy Parker and Edith Wharton stories.

As with any mixed author collection, some stories were stronger than others, but I found something unique in each story, so definitely a pick!

First #bookspinbingo square!

We are in that sweet spot of Canadian summer where it‘s light enough and warm enough to sit outside and read until after 10pm at night. 🌸

#PersephoneBooks

Look at what came from the bff for 40!! Yay!! I almost got this for myself and now I have it. 🤩😁🥰🥳🎉💖

It arrived yesterday.

#persephone #persephonebooks

I ❤️ Persephone Biannually day!

It‘s always a grand mail day when The Persephone Biannually (and bookmark) shows up.

#DontStopMeNow ... I‘m off to read the whole thing! 😆

#MayMovieMagic
#PersephoneBooks

This was recently in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/14/books/persephone-books-women-london.html

❤️Finally got to see it in person! ❤️

#persephonebooks

#somethinglikethis is what gets me into trouble.... 💸💸💸

#getmovin

Hold my calls, please. It‘s here!

#Persephone
#PersephoneBooks

Ahhhh, The Persephone Biannually is here. Oh happy day!

A new bookmark and #Persephone Biannually in the mailbox today! ❤️

I received this catalog of temptation via mail today.... I‘m afraid my bookshelves are already groaning! And my piggy bank needs to start eating better! 😀😊😂📚❤️📚 #Persephone

Congratulations on your 100K milestone, @vivastory! 😀 Thanks for the awesome giveaway.
Before I sold my soul to Amazon, Crossword was my go-to place for books when I'd freshly fallen in love with reading. It's where I bought all of my early reads from classics to Stephen King books. Bookstores I'd really love to visit someday are Persephone Books and the Strand! 😍😍
#vivabookstore

My first #Persephonebooks online order! I went with this volume to sample more authors. And, it‘s my tribute to Persephone and the much-needed return to Spring!🌷

A delightful birthday #bookhaul from @Jess_Read_This - increasing my beloved Persephone shelf (and TBR!) with a couple of excellent additions. While also making me long for a trip to Literary London. And simultaneously causing swooning over these Persuasion bookmarks & new edition for my Austen shelf.
So much fun opening bookish boxes from cross-country kindred spirits 😁💕
#birthdaybookhaul 📚

🍶💐✍🏼📖I wanted to share a podcast for the Persephone lovers on Litsy. Tea and Tattle with Miranda and Sophie did a wonderful podcast devoted to their favorite Persephone books (October 24). Overall, I love this podcast. The Persephone episode was one I was scribbling notes down while listening. For newbies it‘s a helpful list. Seasoned Persephone readers might pat themselves on the back for a job well done/read. ❤️

#PersephoneBooks

This is my most cherished #bookhaul ever! I‘ve coveted #Persephone books for a long time, but they‘re a little pricey. I only own ONE grey edition like those pictured here, and when I was looking at my wishlist on BookDepo a few weeks ago to treat myself to ONE more, I noticed one was only $3. I found all these too for under $4! I was sure it was a typo so I ordered them all hoping they would arrive safely. And they did for less than $30!

I'm still trying to figure out #bookwitty - but I noticed some #persephonebooks love earlier this week 💜

https://www.bookwitty.com/reading_list/persephone-books-though-she-be-but-little...

"The best things come is small packages" - short stories - the literary snack of choice. Bitesize deliciousness ... hedonistic tapas for the mind

The final piece of my #wintersolsticebookexchange #litsysecretsanta gift has arrived! Now I have the thrilling task of picking a new #PersephoneBooks book to redeem with my book voucher! Thanks again to @Betty for her generosity and thoughtfulness!!

Happy birthday to Shirley Jackson, who I first discovered in the #PersephoneBooks Book of Short Stories!

#persephone #shortstories #thelottery

#wantasagift Visit #Persephonebooks in London, the Strand, and re-visit Powell's, Parnassus and Malaprop's. Travel, travel, #travel to #indiebookstores. Got this mug from Malaprop's in Asheville. #12DaysofXmasPhoto

Before I discovered #PersephoneBooks I used just about whatever was handy for #bookmarks - so thanks Persephone for keeping my reading experience classy! #booktober

#septphotochallenge day 29 - short stories

This is a large and robust collection of 29 short stories, all authored by women, and originally published between 1909 and 1986. Some of the authors are otherwise published by #persephonebooks but others, like Dorothy Parker and Shirley Jackson, are not. #somethingforsept

All packed and ready for bookish adventure. Next stop, Washington DC. #NatBookFest or bust!

While I may live on the other side of the pond, my #1 favorite independent bookshop is definitely Persephone Books 😍😍

#getindie

Bit of a mixed bag (generally the case for short story collections), and almost a disappointment for my much beloved Persephone Books. It's not a bad collection, I just expected more from this.

My Friday night in a nutshell 😻📚

Tilney thinks I should be reading less in bed and putting more food in bowls. 😸

#24in48 done and done. First time and it was fun, will definitely do again! Thanks to all for the great experience!!!

Taking a break for dinner. I've been dipping into the Persephone book of short stories in between graphic novels, and that's been fun. I'm only 8ish hours into the #24in48 and am beginning to suspect I may not actually be able to do 24 full hours. Fingers crossed, though. I'm enjoying it, regardless.