PersephoneClub

pick

I very much enjoyed this inter War story of two families and the widowed matriarchs who are very different with parenting styles that put each other at odds. The story of the impact on the children who, in the end, seem lost while the g/children appear to be a thriving new generation.
@quietjenn @Tamra @CarolynM @sisilia @Caryl @daena @elkeOriginal @Gissy @Aimeesue @Bookbuyingaddict @julieclair @willaful @LeahBergen #persephoneclub ⬇️

andrew61 I loved the authors brilliant characterisation of the individual family members albeit the men are all fairly pathetic. The end scenes of Mrs fowler and Mrs Willoughby reflecting on the fact they have missed on a lifetime of friendship because of their images of each other is very poignant. There is so much in this book that I enjoyed and it felt like the cazaler chronicles may have drawn inspiration from the tale. 3d

Cathythoughts Great review Andrew. Yes poignant that these two women missed a lifetime of friendship together, I‘ve seen this happen with in-laws in families… such a loss at the end of the day. They had so many loved ones in common. 3d

LeahBergen Great review, Andrew! 3d

Bookbuyingaddict Great 👍 review I‘m just finishing it now as I type : it has been my favourite ❤️ Persephone since high wages , and yes hadn‘t thought about it but compares beautifully to the wonderful cazalet chronicles. I do love a good family drama 🎭 Iv just realised it‘s one of my favourite troupes 😆 it‘s a 5star read from me- I wish some one would drown Bella 😆 in a vat of tea 🫖 2d

43 likes4 comments

CarolynM

Family Roundabout | Richmal Crompton

pick

#PersephoneClub

I feel a bit guilty for enjoying this story so much since pretty much all the characters were unhappy one way or another. All those unhappy marriages! Did no one ever marry someone they actually liked? Widowed Mrs Fowler was the only one who seemed mostly contented, but even she was tinged with sadness about absent sons. Belle was quite a character - I thought she could be a grown up Violet Elizabeth from the Just William books 😆

rubyslippersreads, quietjenn, Caryl, sisilia, daena, LeahBergen, JenlovesJT47, elkeOriginal, Gissy, Aimeesue, Tamra, Teresereading, andrew61, Cathythoughts, Bookbuyingaddict, julieclair, willaful

LeahBergen What a great review! I didn‘t get the Just William link but it was probably too much of an interval between my readings. 😆😆 6d

CarolynM @LeahBergen Belle was just the sort of woman I could imagine as a child threatening to “thcream and thcream and thcream til I‘m thick!” in order to get her own way🤣 6d

BarbaraBB Great review. 6d

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Cathythoughts Great review! All those unhappy marriages were sad to see. The way they were written was very insightful though. 6d

Cathythoughts I did love Mrs. Willoughby‘s inclusiveness of distant relatives , and her kindness behind her ‘ Sargeant Major‘ style of leading her family. It also made me look at my own role in my family and how much, and how, I move within its orbit… (edited) 6d

andrew61 Great review. The bit at the end when Mrs fowler and Mrs Willoughby are playing bridge and regretting their feelings towards each other was very moving. I felt I needed a book on each character particularly the g/c Jessica and Gillian. Reminded me a lot of the cazalet chronicles 6d

LeahBergen @CarolynM Haha, yes!! 😆 6d

MaureenMc @andrew61 Ooh, Cazalet Chronicles comparison! *stacked* 6d

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Cathythoughts

Family Roundabout | Richmal Crompton

pick

I enjoyed our two widowed matriarchs , and both with five children. Helen was probably my favourite character. The title aptly describes family life and history repeating itself. It reminded me of Joni Mitchell‘s song The Circle Game. Great choice @CarolynM #PersephoneClub

LeahBergen Oh, you finished! I really enjoyed my time with these families, too. 1w

rwmg I was well into adulthood before I discovered Richmal Compton was a woman 1w

Cathythoughts @LeahBergen Yes, a very enjoyable read. ❤️ 1w

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Cathythoughts @rwmg Yes, I got a bit of a surprise when I looked up the author 👍🏻😁 1w

andrew61 As Just William was one of my earliest reading experiences I am really enjoying this as well Cathy. The family scenes and characters evoke the Brown family and that middle class England feel. 1w

Cathythoughts @andrew61 I never read Just William… a gap in my education. But this is enjoyable … 👍🏻 1w

Tamra I am not very far in and enjoying it - feels like I‘m a bit of a nosey fly on the wall. 😆 1w

sarahbarnes I love that song. ♥️ Great review. This sounds lovely. 1w

Cathythoughts @Tamra I know ! We are getting all the info … love it 😂 1w

Cathythoughts @sarahbarnes Thanks X Yes , I love Joni Mitchell ❤️ 1w

CarolynM Lovely review. The repeating patterns were quite sad in this story, I thought. Maybe I was too young to judge, but I always thought the Brown family were happy @andrew61 6d

andrew61 @CarolynM I think it was those first scenes in the fowler household of them sitting in the sunshine having afternoon tea, I expected William to pop out of the bushes looking suitably mudded to pop his older brother and sisters pomposity. Definitely enjoying this pick although the fate of the children seems quite sad. 6d

70 likes12 comments

Cathythoughts

Family Roundabout | Richmal Crompton

New books arrived today ❤️
First up will be our Persephone read for February. #Persephoneclub

Lesliereadsalot Olive will be one of the most interesting people you‘ll ever meet. 2w

Cathythoughts @Lesliereadsalot Very good 😁 2w

Ruthiella I‘m interested to observe your journey into Strout‘s slightly connected universe of characters. 2w

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Cathythoughts @Ruthiella I‘m looking forward to it 😁 2w

DrSabrinaMoldenReads Agree with you @Ruthiella I LOVE Olive !! 2w

LeahBergen Lovely! 👏 2w

squirrelbrain You‘ll love Olive! And the Shafak is amazing too. 2w

Cathythoughts @DrSabrinaMoldenReads I‘m looking forward to getting to know her 👍🏻 2w

Cathythoughts @LeahBergen Thanks Leah 😘 2w

Cathythoughts @squirrelbrain Oh great 😊 👏🏻 2w

80 likes10 comments

Caryl

BookSpinBingo | Untitled

My bookshelf is ready for a new month! February‘s #BookSpin pick is also the #PersephoneClub pick (yay!), and my #DoubleSpin pick is a genre I don‘t usually read. (My alma mater is hosting a book talk on romance novels, and this is one of the titles they‘ll be discussing.) Looking forward to both!

#BookSpinBINGO

TheAromaofBooks

LeahBergen Well, that was some good Persephone luck! 😄 3w

TheAromaofBooks Yay!! Enjoy!!! 3w

19 likes2 comments

LitsyEvents

Family Roundabout | Richmal Crompton

repost for @LeahBergen:

It‘s now February so that means it‘s time for one of our #PersephoneClub reads!

@CarolynM ‘s pick for us this month is Family Roundabout by Richmal Crompton. This is a casual buddy read; read and comment on each other‘s posts and reviews as you see them. We usually aim to finish by the middle of the month but that‘s not written in stone. 😉 And anyone is welcome to read along with us, of course!

LeahBergen Thanks for the repost! 3w

38 likes1 comment

LeahBergen

Family Roundabout | Richmal Crompton

It‘s now February so that means it‘s time for one of our #PersephoneClub reads!

@CarolynM ‘s pick for us this month is Family Roundabout by Richmal Crompton. This is a casual buddy read; read and comment on each other‘s posts and reviews as you see them. We usually aim to finish by the middle of the month but that‘s not written in stone. 😉 And anyone is welcome to read along with us, of course!

rubyslippersreads, quietjenn, Caryl, sisilia, daena, LeahBergen, JenlovesJT47, elkeOriginal, Gissy, Aimeesue, Tamra, Teresereading, andrew61, Cathythoughts, Bookbuyingaddict, julieclair, willaful

Teresereading Still waiting for my copy to arrive 📚 3w

LeahBergen @Teresereading I hope it arrives soon. 😀 3w

daena Can‘t wait to get started. Waiting on my copy too! 3w

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Tamra Off the shelf! Thank for your the reminder. 😊 3w

julieclair Looking forward to it! 3w

CarolynM Hope it‘s a good one🤞 3w

Cathythoughts Thanks Leah, my copy was meant to arrive a couple of days ago. So I should have it Monday Looking forward to it ❤️ 3w

LeahBergen @daena @Tamra @julieclair @CarolynM @Cathythoughts This is one I‘ve already read and really enjoyed. I hope you all like it, too! 3w

Caryl I started it last night and I'm quite invested in the characters already! Great pick @CarolynM! (edited) 3w

LeahBergen @Caryl I found that I was, too! 3w

Teresereading My copy‘s arrived! 2w

LeahBergen @Teresereading Yay! 👏 2w

elkeOriginal Real life has really messed up my reading but I am still here and hope to catch up on our group reads (furrowed too) at some point📚 1w

LeahBergen @elkeOriginal No worries! My life is a bit that way, too, at the moment. As long as we check in with each other every so often … right? 😄 1w

53 likes14 comments

rubyslippersreads

Emmeline | Judith Rossner

Catching up on last month‘s #PersephoneClub book. I‘m fascinated by stories of the Lowell Mill girls, but this one is particularly bleak. It took me a long time to finish because my feelings of dread kept growing stronger and stronger, as did my anger at most of the characters. Poor Emmeline never had a chance.

rubyslippersreads @quietjenn @Caryl @sisilia @CarolynM @daena @LeahBergen @elkeOriginal @Gissy @Aimeesue @Tamra @andrew61 @Cathythoughts @Bookbuyingaddict @julieclair @willaful 2mo

LeahBergen Poor Emmeline, indeed. 😬 2mo

quietjenn I am very behind, but already not expecting a happy ending ... 2mo

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CarolynM So much to be angry about in this book! 2mo

Cathythoughts Great review. Tough book , Yes, a lot of feelings of dread. 2mo

Bookbuyingaddict Great 👍 review & totally agree , poor emmeline beauty was a curse all she craved was friendship & love ❤️ the women were jealous and awful to her whilst the men lusted or treated her as a pawn 😩certainly no sisterhood 👯‍♀️in this book ! Glad I read it though thank you 🙏 Leah x x x. X 2mo

rubyslippersreads @Bookbuyingaddict Even Matthew (before anyone knew who he really was) could be possessive and controlling. 2mo

rubyslippersreads @CarolynM @Cathythoughts Yes. Hard to find many likable characters. 2mo

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ferskner

The Ultimate Reading Challenge: Complete a Goal, Open an Envelope, and Reveal Your Bookish Prize! | Weldon Owen

Help a Litten out! I'm wanting to get back into reading challenges this year but I'm having a hard time figuring out what Litsy is hosting these days. It looks like a few I used to do aren't active anymore. Are there any I should know about? (I'm planning to do #bookspin with @TheAromaofBooks and #agathachristieclubR3 with @Librarybelle, of course!)

Picture of my dog's dumb teeth for tax!

TheAromaofBooks I'm participating in - #Pantone2025 and #FourFoursin25 with @lauredhel
- #WickedWords with @AsYouWish
- #Roll100 and #GottaCatchEmAll with @PuddleJumper
- #FictionalTraveler and #ReadorDonate with @julieclair
and my own other challenges, #ISpyBingo and #BookChain

Have you checked @LitsyEvents ? That account does a great job reposting all kinds of shenanigans!! 2mo

Ruthiella You can follow @LitsyEvents for reposts of all the challenges, etc. Good luck! 😃 2mo

AmyG There is #authoramonth @soubhiville where one reads 1+ books from that specific author for the month. #TBRTarot is where a card is chosen and you pick a corresponding book. #readyourkindle is like Bookspin but just for ereaders. Last two are with @Cbee (edited) 2mo

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Jess861 Some of the ones I'm participating in and aren't listed above:

#BookedInTime @Cuilin
#FoodAndLit @Catsandbooks @Texreader
#SeriesLove2025 @Andrew65 @TheSpineView
#OhCanada @jess861 (me) 2mo

Cuilin #HashtagBrigade @BarkingMadRead #NoPlaceLikeHolmes @Dabbe & @Cuilin #NaturalLitsy @alldebooks #WhatTheDickens @Texreader & @Cuilin #literarycrew @Librarybelle 2mo

dabbe Some others: #WithTheBanned2025 (host: @Jadams89); #NancyDrewBR (host: @Librarybelle); #ChristiesCapers (host: @Librarybelle); #teamlesmis (host: @TheBookHippie); #ShardlakeSeriesBR (host: @dabbe) 2mo

TheBookHippie I do #SUNDAYBUDDYREAD #CHILDRENSCLASSICREAD2025 #CHLOEGONGREADALONG #READLESMIS #JOURNALINGPROMPTS #KARENINAWINTER and #LITSOLACE with @AllDebooks & @Chrissyreadit 2mo

Librarybelle @Cuilin @dabbe —thanks for mentioning the buddy reads I host! This is the last year for #192025 , which is reading a book originally published in each year from 1920-2025 (I‘ll post details later in the year for the next challenge, #192030 ). 2mo

Texreader And #litsyatoz that I‘m hosting. 2mo

AllDebooks #SeriesLove2025 challenge is a good one, hosted by @Andrew65 2mo

AllDebooks Sorry, not finished. And @thelibraryview. I'm doing the Wild Moor reading challenge. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDKncU5i_Y7/?igsh=MXQ0a3U2cWZ1OHlieQ== 2mo

AllDebooks Series love is also hosted by @TheSpineView having a brain malfunction 😅 2mo

AllDebooks Thanks for the tags @TheBookHippie and @Cuilin 2mo

julieclair In addition to those already mentioned (thanks, @TheAromaofBooks 💙), I also host #ThematicCozies , #AllergicToChunksters , and #MonthlyNonfiction2025 . Others I participate in that haven‘t been mentioned yet are #KindredSpirits with @BarbaraJean , #LittensLoveRomance with @StayCurious , #JaneAustenThenAndNownwith @Crinoline_Laphroaig , #HitchToScreen with @JenlovesJT47 , #FurrowedMiddleBrow and #PersephoneClub with @LeahBergen . 2mo

julieclair Also #ClassicsChallenge with @Lunakay and #2025FairyTaleChallenge with @Charityann . Also Acquired Via Litsy #AVL25 with @MatchlessMarie . 2mo

Andrew65 This just shows how much is going on, an impressive list. 2mo

PuddleJumper Teeth! ❤️ I think my general ones have been mentioned. I also have #RiordanverseReadalong which is reading Rick Riordan books and #ReadYourDamnDanmei which is reading Chinese light novels. I also run seasonal challenges in October/December 2mo

PuddleJumper Also #QueerBC Monthly LGBTQIA+ authors and you can read anything they've written 2mo

LeahBergen @julieclair Wow, this is a big list! Thanks for tagging our little reading groups. 😘 2mo

MatchlessMarie When I have been away from Litsyland for a while I like to check out the @LitsyEvents page for most current things. But this is a great time of year to get back into them. It‘s hard to miss challenges since we are all abuzz with New Year wishful thinking 😂 2mo

TheAromaofBooks @Librarybelle - I will be so excited to tackle another long-term project!! I actually think I'm going to complete #192025 which is pretty thrilling! 2mo

Librarybelle That‘s so cool, @TheAromaofBooks ! I still have a bit to go but need to tally up my readings from the last half of 2024. I love the long term challenges! 2mo

julieclair @LeahBergen I think it‘s more of a “wishful thinking” list! 😂 2mo

LeahBergen @julieclair I think you‘re right. 😆 2mo

Lauredhel I'm doing #Pantone2025 (two grids) #Fourfoursin25 #WickedWords #MonthlyNonfiction2025 #Bookchain2025 #LGBTQIA2025 #urc2025 #FictionalTraveler #readharder2025 #LitsyAtoZ2025 #booklistqueenchallenge25 #ISpyBingo 2mo

Amiable Wanted to add #ChunksterChallenge2025, #DiseaseoftheMonthBookClub and #Nonfiction2025 (edited) 2mo

staci.reads Also #SheSaid hosted by @Riveted_Reader_Melissa highlighting books by female authors and women's topics! 2mo

ferskner @TheAromaofBooks @AmyG @Jess861 @Cuilin @dabbe @TheBookHippie @Ruthiella @Librarybelle @Texreader @AllDebooks @julieclair @PuddleJumper @MatchlessMarie @Lauredhel @Amiable @staci.reads thank you all for your help and ideas! I totally forgot about @LitsyEvents so thank you for that reminder too! I'll go through these and pick out a few. 1mo

Texreader So great to have you back!! 1mo

britt_brooke Joseph! 1mo

59 likes30 comments

Bookbuyingaddict

Emmeline | Judith Rossner

pick

Oh emmeline! I Had a discussion in the pub recently about how some people do genuinely seem to be born with no good luck or good fortune at all and seem to attract one disaster after another & so it is with emmeline. One of the most depressing books iv ever read because you just know what disaster is going to befall the beautiful but naive emmeline. It js a pacey page turner but I‘d never have read it if it wasn‘t my Persephone bookclub pick.

rubyslippersreads, quietjenn, Caryl, sisilia, Tamara, CarolynM, daena, LeahBergen, elkeOriginal, Gissy, Aimeesue, andrew61, Cathythoughts, dabbe, julieclair, willaful

LeahBergen It was certainly a page turner for being so bleak, wasn‘t it? 2mo

CarolynM I wouldn‘t have read it without #PersephoneClub either. I‘m so glad I did! 2mo

Bookbuyingaddict @LeahBergen @CarolynM Absolutely 👍loved it and it took me by surprise 😮 who could have guessed that ending ! I sat up in bed with my new Christmas 🎄 gift 🎁 reading 📖 light to finish it , raced through it thank you 🙏 for choosing it 😌it‘s a shame our reviews are restricted to 451characters you can‘t say it all in that ! Happy NYE x x x 2mo

38 likes3 comments

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