Welcome to Litsy!

Since moving to Nebraska, I've heard a lot about Willa Cather. It's taken me this long to pick up a book of hers and I'm pleasantly surprised by how well-written and enjoyable it was to read.

Also, I finished building my wall of book cases in the dining room! Ignore the unfinished wall. We STILL haven't decided on a paint color for the room and I know the consequence is having to move all these shelves again. 😐

Teeny novella which I purchased in Amsterdam, following holiday tradition.
Id be interested in reading others by Cather as this wasn't as I'd expected although nicely written.

A beautifully told story of the vibrantly attractive wife of a much older man, a rich railroad pioneer. Living in a beautiful house, she attracts admirers to her home. The young narrator is such an admirer who watches at close quarters as fortunes impact on Marian. Loved this story, which was both gentle but also a bitter tale of unrequited love, infidelity, and an emerging affluent west, as also the 20s crash occurred. She is such a good writer.

Read the book skip the movie. It‘s hardly even related to the book.

I‘m making my way through Cather‘s oeuvre. I love her insights on the American West in the early part of the 20th century. So much to learn about America.

#selfguidedwomenandgenderstudiescourse

Read this in one sitting. Thank you Willa Cather

Even when I don‘t like the characters, I find them memorable.

My first time reading Cather. I rather enjoyed it. That‘s one to mark off the list. #readmybookshelf22

One I‘d never heard of until the #catherbuddyread that #beginswithLost. @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs

😆 Favorite Quote. Fictional Hangover September Book Club Challenge - It's Like Being Back at School:
𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢 “𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘤” 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬. 📖
#afternoontea #september #fhbookclubchallenge
#itslikebeingbackinschool #readaclassic

Something about late Summer almost Autumn puts me in the mood to read Willa Cather. One of those authors I didn't enjoy as a teenager but enjoy now reading through older eyes. Especially since my Bestest Book Buddy & I went on a road trip a few years ago to her Prairie. Someday I want to read complete works. Fictional Hangover SeptBook Club Challenge - It's Like Being Back at School: 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢 “𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘤” 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬. 📖
#fhbookclubchallenge

Cather‘s writing is beautiful and this short novel gives just enough of the tragic Marian Forrester to pull the reader in. She‘s married to an older man who has been badly injured. The story is told from the point of view of Niel, a young man who fell in love with her. Apparently, her character partly inspired Daisy‘s in The Great Gatsby. I‘m glad I read it, so I could gain a deeper appreciation for Cather. It reminded me a bit of Madame Bovary.

Faves of 2019 #adventrecommends Dec 15 & 16

The #catherbuddyread has been a source of great pleasure this year, both in terms of reading & discussion. These are two books about two very different women. Song of the Lark has a sweeping, lyrical intensity; it's a novel about temperament, place, & artistry. A Lost Woman is a sharp, compact novella about a woman & her ambitions for a cultivated life. Both showcase Cather's brilliance.

@emilyrose_x

Barbara Stanwyck in the 1934 film

As always, enjoyed the conversations with the #catherbuddyread - a group I feel special being a part of. I had a great deal of trouble trying to review this - somehow it‘s not easy to figure out what I want to share about it. I finally came up with something, but, apologies, requires a click.

Here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3034219977 or here https://www.librarything.com/topic/312033 (message 85)

Whoa! Looks like i am posting after a long while here. I have missed Litsy so effin' much. Blame work, work, work.

Quite a character study - loved reading another one of Cather's gorgeous stories. Doesn't the title itself makes you curious? A fast paced read with plenty of quiet moments, this was a melting pot of characters and their lives (as individuals and with each other).

Got to read more Cather. ❤️

November was a good reading month, although I‘m hard-pressed to select a #favoriteNovemberRead. The two I‘ve been talking about the most are the tagged book from the #catherbuddyread and Moby Duck b/c of the issues it raises. #gratefulreads @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620

Willa Cather's writing continues to amaze me with its clarity & beauty. One quality of her prose is that it evokes the space & expanse of the Great Plains she writes about, but this book surprised me for being a terse, almost acerbic novella that gave me some serious Edith Wharton vibes. An intimate portrait of a lady that is also about the loss of innocence & what seems to be keen skepticism of the materialism brought upon by the economic boom.

#catherbuddyread
A Lost Lady Part 2 : 4-9 (end of the 📖 )

She left me in a spell. Seemingly past our story climax, Cather carries it forward forcefully with the power of her words and her unexpected framings. Seen through Niel‘s eyes, Marian leaves an impression that spreads well beyond our isolated, perhaps overly judgmental, individual thoughts. As @lscmcat highlighted, she doesn‘t do one dimensional characters. Thoughts? How does she do it?

Once again Cather is a joy to read, even when the story leaves me feeling melancholy. Some interesting points to discuss fellow #CatherBuddyRead -ers.

I couldn‘t stop, so I finished this morning. I‘ll hold off on my review to avoid spoilers. #catherbuddyread I‘d forgotten how they used to put mini-catalogs in the back of paperback books. There‘re about 12 pages of this, so the ending of the novel snuck up on me. @Graywacke

Such a pick. I'm so glad I stumbled upon the #catherbuddyread led by @Graywacke. I'm sure that much of the message and nuance was lost on me, but the writing was beautiful. Willa Cather never disappoints me.

#catherbuddyread
A Lost Lady Part 1 : 6-9 & Part 2 : 1-3.

How to summarize Niels bitter loss of innocence and some exposure of Marian‘s character? It‘s compact and elegant. Add $$, appearances, living life and principles, mix, then take out the $$. What do get? What have you lost? What have you learned? Wait, or did you just get lost in that prose? What were your thoughts?

Had he “never used to have” that feeling because it hadn‘t cost her in the past, or, as I suspect, because he wasn‘t mature enough to spot it before? #catherbuddyread

"The Old West had been settled by dreamers, great-hearted adventurers who were unpractical to the point of magnificence; a courteous brotherhood, strong in attack but weak in defence, who could conquer, but could not hold."

And this is just the beginning of a passage that took my breath away. #catherbuddyread @Graywacke

#Catherbuddyread and my first peppermint mocha of the season. 😊☕️ #litsypartyofone ##MrBook1inaMillion #bookandsnack #gratefulreads

“in one those grey towns along the Burlington railroad which are so much greyer to-day than they were then”

Cather has a way. I‘m thinking not much is going on and then suddenly I have a town of vibrant characters, stratified by temporary hierarchies, with tensions and subtle clashes between practical and presentation; and it all reflects in the control and preservation of quietly vibrant natural surroundings.

Thoughts? Was it hard to stop?

For anyone else in the #catherbuddyread who didn‘t know what a Democrat wagon is, I Googled it. Looking forward to our discussion tomorrow! @Graywacke

Finished up on schedule for the #catherbuddyread! That's rare for me!

I confess, I was nervous going in to this because the description of the book just made it seem very different from other works I know. Cather's writing is like an old, dear friend to me. I am enjoying the read.

"Her vowels seemed to roll about in the same way her eyes did."

Not a profound quote but I always love when an author comments on the sounds of language.

#catherbuddyread

#catherbuddyread
The mixing of solid boundaries and empty space, of formality and passion. Feel like I‘ve failed this scheduling thing again for our group. It‘s difficult to stop so soon for Saturday‘s section.

#catherbuddyread

1st Litsy discussion a week away:

November 9 - Part 1 : 1-5
November 16 - Part 1 : 6-9 & Part 2 : 1-3
November 23 - Part 2 : 4-9

The above essay beginning is a little teaser. (Full essay, titled WILLA CATHER'S A LOST LADY ART VERSUS THE CLOSING FRONTIER, is available here: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2634&context=greatplai... )

@Graywacke #catherbuddyread

I'm all ready! #bookmail was just delivered.

Ordered and ready for the #catherbuddyread!

Good #bookmail day 🙂 Got my copies for both the #catherbuddyread and #NYRBbookclub

I‘ve got my copy for the #catherbuddyread. 1972 Vintage Books edition, it looks like it was never read. I love the cover art which appears to be signed “J K Lambert.” @Graywacke

A little prompt for our upcoming #catherbuddyread ... and an actual schedule. (I‘ll post another reminder next week.)

November 9 - Part 1 : 1-5
November 16 - Part 1 : 6-9 & Part 2 : 1-3
November 23 - Part 2 : 4-9

@Lcsmcat @CarolynM @batsy @jewright @crazeedi @Tanisha_A @Caterina @Louise

Repost for @Graywacke :

Planning the next #catherbuddy read. Looking at reading this 1923 novel in November.

We‘re a small group, but anyone is welcome to join. Leave a comment and tag me if you‘re interested.

Planning the next #catherbuddyread. Looking at reading this 1923 novel in November.

We‘re a small group, but anyone is welcome to join. Leave a comment if you‘re interested.

No one writes like Willa Cather. Here, young Niel Herbert tells the story of the decline of Mrs. Forrester. It‘s also about the West, the spreading of the railroad, capitalism, idealism, and the complexities of growing up and realizing your idols are only frail humans.

#willacather

#bookhaul from Tucker Jo‘s in Southern Pines. Olivia is for my granddaughter, but the rest are going in my library! See anything you‘ve read and loved?

This domestic fiction book helped me out of a weird funk. I loved the ease and flow of Cather's writing style. 4.5 out of 5

I‘m co-starring in a podcast where we are competing to take the longest time possible to read and discuss a book.

Through two episodes, we have made it all the way through sentence 3 of A Lost Lady, by Willa Cather!

Listen wherever fine podcasts are downloaded!

I love how Cather always creates complex female characters.

What can I say? I love a giveaway, and here @LazyDays is organizing one! #listylove2019

A do love hand written notes in my used books, especially when the penmanship is this nice!

One of my local libraries just reopened after a massive renovation. I went over and wandered the aisles and of course checked out more books to add to my massive #tbr stack. #libraryflow

Found this while browsing today. Why so pretty?!!??!

This book was in my Christmas stocking and I read it in (I think) February. I liked it a lot. Willa Cather captures people and a time very well, it's vivid, affecting, and easy to read. I may have enjoyed it more than My Antonia, or at least I think the plot has stayed with me better. Thus far!