Chapters 16 and 17 bring the return of our old friend Edward Ferrars! The Dashwoods are delighted to see him, but sadly Edward goes all Sad Keanu on them, unable to shake off, or even mask, his low spirits. Elinor is "vexed and half-angry" about his behavior- and honestly, I get it! I always WANT to love Edward- he is kind and honorable, and I sympathize with his feelings of social awkwardness; but the dude is also kind of a drag.

Poor Catherine is so, so sick and weak- can't read a book, can't hold a letter, is "doomed to decay"- but hey, there's Heathcliff and suddenly she has not only the strength to stand and embrace him, but enough to seize his hair and *keep him down on his knees*. They shout at one another about love and death and regret and both wind up weeping until Edgar comes home. I don't know how Nelly stands it, srsly. #WanderingThroughWutheringHeights

I love this question. Water has always felt an anchor to me, and many bodies of water have felt like "mine". I was lucky to grow up in Michigan, where no matter you are, you are never further than 6 miles from fresh water, and waterways both great and small- wild Lake Superior, the storied Detroit River, the small lakefront at my childhood summer camp- have become a part of me. What are your ties to the water, Littens? Is there water that's yours?

Nelly goes to the Heights and sees what a shambles life there has become- though Heathcliff is looking better than ever with a house full of people to torment. Isabella barely gets to speak before he launches into an abusive tirade about her, and then speaks of his "love" for Catherine (read: his weird, brutal obsession). At the chapter's end, we return to Lockwood and learn that he's maybe falling for Cathy Heathcliff?!? I. Give. Up.

The downward spiral continues. Catherine has been sick (turns out she's pregnant!), and Edgar has been a fantastic nurse. He has not, however, been a fantastic brother, as he continues to give Isabella the cold shoulder. She instead confides in Nelly, writing of her arrival at the Heights, which has been a total nightmare hellscape- Hareton's gone feral, Hindley's hatching a murder plot, and Heathcliff promises to make her suffer. RUN, GIRL.

I love a good #BookHaul day! Three gorgeous new-to-me titles have arrived, and surprise, surprise, I plan to spend the entire weekend reading! #NewIn #CurrentlyReading

I took a lovely break this week from all of my Austen and Brontë and Persephone tomes to speed-read this fun and heartfelt romance, the latest in the Ransome series. I loved Everly, our leading lady, even more than I thought I would, and as much as I also love her leading man, the relationship that came out on top for me is the one Everly shares with her three very different, yet all fiercely independent, loyal, and supportive sisters. Perfect 10!

Tumblr user Mercutihoe (lmao I love people) gets it right- these characters are getting worse and worse and worse. Catherine finally opens her bedroom door and scarfs some tea and toast, but she's also talking straight-up nonsense. Nelly refuses to indulge her at first, but eventually runs for the doctor only to discover that Isabella has run off with Heathcliff! Also, Heathcliff tried to kill Isabella's dog, cool cool cool. 😳😬🤯

The gang was psyched to be heading to Whitwell, but then Brandon got a "business letter" and had to call the whole thing off. So not only is he unbearably old, he's also a fun-sucking drag! Marianne and Willoughby are like, "...figures," and head out to burn rubber in Willoughby's curricle. But later Mrs. Jennings announces that she's found out the truth: the lovers visited Willoughby's house- UNCHAPERONED. Cue Elinor's extreme disapproval!

Sorry for a double post today, but I have to ask: was anyone else weirded out or made suspicious in today's chapter by Nelly's sudden nostalgia and tenderness for Hindley? I know she grew up with him so some of this is wrapped up in her own childhood memories...but she has also seen the terrible man Hindley has become, and how he's driven everyone around him to become a worse person. 👇👇👇

These folks are a total mess, as usual. Baby Hareton is cussing out servants, Heathcliff is kissing Isabella for some perverted stab at revenge, Edgar's leveling throat punches, and Catherine is being a mean, manipulative dirtbag. Edgar issues an ultimatum but not to be out-drama-d, Cathy ups the ante by disappearing to her room for days without any food or water. Nothing to see here, all super healthy behavior! #WanderingThroughWutheringHeights

Catching up after three days, which is roughly how long M and W know each other before everyone thinks they're engaged. But who could blame them?! Let's review the facts: he calls her by her Christian name; he tries to give her a horse (Queen Mab!); and most telling of all, he has a lock of her hair! If that doesn't scream "I have pledged myself to this person but conveniently not mentioned it to any of my family," I don't know what does.

Heathcliff is back, showing off a major glow-up, even though he's only returned to execute his three-part plan- with "execute" being the main word since parts 2 and 3 were to kill Hindley and then himself. ? But seeing Catherine changes that, and now he's living at the Heights?! Our girl Nelly is suspicious, but no matter, because Isabella is in LOVE and acting a total clown thinking she can change him (girl, no). Cathy takes it well. /sarcasm

Never forget that the infamous Wuthering Heights quote of all time, the supposed pinnacle of romantic, Etsy-print-worthy lines, comes from the scene where Catherine reveals that she's *marrying somebody else*. 🙃🙃🙃 Today's chapter is a turning point in our story, and even though Cathy is pretty terrible on the whole, I love her complexity and humanity in this scene. 👇👇👇

Yikes on bikes, things at the Heights are going from grim to downright grisly. After giving birth to Hareton, the doctor predicts Frances' untimely death, which comes true after she coughs one time and then expires. Meanwhile, when Edgar visits and Nelly acts as chaperone, Cathy absolutely blows her top. She bitch-slaps Nelly, shakes a baby, and punches Edgar- and then they 👏 officially 👏 get 👏 together. The red flags are waving, folks!

OK, OK, I know the point of this book is that we should be Elinors and not Mariannes, but come. on. The swoon factor here is off the charts! Willoughby might be a full-on fuckboy, but I have to believe that Jane would allow us a bit of sensibility from time to time, wouldn't you agree? #PemberLittens

Today's chapter is jam-packed, so let's just hit the high notes:

-Cathy undergoes my least favorite transition of all time, when a wild, obstinate girl becomes a lady (blech)

-Hindley's abuse has reached all-time high, and Heathcliff swears revenge, even if he has to play the long game on this (and oh, he will!)

-Cathy speaking "contemptuously" to a crying Edgar makes me love her, tbh

-Edgar deserved that face full of applesauce, don't @ me

Hello, Persephone-lovers! It's time to officially kick off our 2022 #PersephonePick read! You can participate in any way that makes sense to you- choose any titles and schedule you'd like, and use the tag #PersephonePick to discuss. I'll be reading one per month, and am starting off easy with the tagged book. You might read one for the year, or take part every other month- whatever works! Drop your title in the comments, and let's get started! 👇

Today Marianne concedes that old Colonel Methuselah could possibly settle down to a marriage of convenience with some old crone in her mid-to-late 20s, but there won't be a single spark of passion or joy to be found between the two elderly saddos. (BRB gonna go scream into the void.) #PemberLittens

Young Heathcliff and Catherine run across the moors to spy on the Lintons over at Thushcross Grange, but they get caught and the Lintons release the hounds. Catherine is bitten so the Lintons decide to care for her, but they also put their racism on full and unabashed display, barring Heathcliff from the house and jeering about seeing him hanged?? So far everyone in this story is a garbage human, and that includes you, Hindley's wife!

The Dashwoods head to Barton Park for dinner with the Middletons, and meet loud Mrs. Jennings and the oldest man Marianne has ever met, 35-year old Colonel Brandon. Though she respects that he didn't fangirl during her piano performance, she also recognizes that he's much too decrepit to feel anything anyway, and would probably break a hip if he tried to applaud or whatever. But she's willing to make allowances for his "advanced state of life." ?

Not too much I can snark on in tonight's chapter, as Cathy sadly loses her father and Heathcliff loses his father figure and staunchest protector. In the aftermath, Mrs. Dean overhears the two talking about Heaven, which was I'm sure was very touching- but they probably didn't get in as good a line as Colin Firth on the subject. 😉 #WanderingThroughWutheringHeights

The Dashwoods arrive at Barton Cottage and it really isn't so bad! It's surrounded by beautiful countryside and Sir John is truly lovely and welcoming. But hold up a minute, here comes his cold wife and their obnoxious child- just what every grieving, dislocated widow and her daughters want. 👇👇👇

Thanks, Spark Notes! Nelly Dean does indeed let it all fly, dishing hot gossip with a promise of more to come. What does everyone think of Heathcliff's origin story? Is he truly an orphan? Is he Mr. Earnshaw's own son by another mother? What "gibberish" do you think he spoke? For my part, I'd guess Romani. And what about Nelly referring to him as "it"? There is so much to unpack here, but frankly, we might be better off burning the whole suitcase.

I know that chapter 5 really is terrifically sad, what with the Ladies Dashwood having to leave their home and downsize to a mere cottage (with prob more square footage than my actual house, let's be real); but all I'm left with is a lot of eye-rolling when Marianne begins waxing poetic about leaving the trees. Come on, girl, get it together! #PemberLittens

"I am now quite cured of seeking pleasure in society."
GOOD CHOICE, LOCKWOOD. #WanderingThroughWutheringHeights

Anyone else think Elinor Dashwood is textbook Enneagram One? Even her outbursts of affection, the glimpses she gives into her most personal feelings, are controlled and pragmatic. I might be biased, being a fairly textbook One myself, but damn, I stan this principled, purposeful lady with all my heart! #PemberLittens

In today's chapter, Doctor Strange (and Lockwood) is all of us, trying to unravel who the heck these people are and why they're living together in the meanest, angriest commune you've ever seen. Well, buckle up, folks, because the work of deciphering Heathcliff from Hareton from Hindley, with a few different Catherines thrown in, is just beginning! And we definitely haven't seen the last of bad weather, snarling dogs, or Yorkshire dialect!

Chapter 3 introduces us to sweet, simple Edward Ferrars, and establishes Marianne as the worst type of music snob and gatekeeper. Watch out, Barry, Dick, and Rob; our girl Marianne has met a man who isn't animated by Cowper and she is NOT having it! #MarianneDandtheUptownThree #PemberLittens

Ch. 1 coming in strong with some flat-out bonkers imagery, and even though I know it gets so, so much more weird and wild from here, I'm still left with a huge WTF- and most of it stems, not from our tortured Heathcliff, but from the narrator, one Mr. Lockwood! Could be the pandemic talking, but the part where he knows H doesn't want a visitor again tomorrow, but he decides to visit anyway?? A crime! And making faces at the dogs? Sir, you're done.

Last year I challenged myself to read one book per month from Persephone Books, and tracked it using the hashtag #PersephonePick. This year I'll still be reading from Persephone, and invite any and everyone to join me! There is no set structure- you can choose any title and read a book per month, or one for the year, or anything in between; the idea is to discover new authors or a great new story. Anyone else wanna grab a #PersephonePick for '22?

Jumping into the #PemberLittens re-read of S&S a day late, but with lots of enthusiasm! Reading the annotated edition is a pleasure; I mean, haven't we all been wondering about the nitty-gritty details of the Dashwood's financial settlements? 😜 In all honesty, I have a real soft spot for this book, as it was the first Austen I fell in love with, and re-reads make me nostalgic for the many phases of my life in which I have revisited it.

Starting off the new year with an ambitious stack- a handful for the #PemberLittens, another #PersephonePick, and The Power Broker to kick off the #ChunksterChallenge. Plus Leroux's Phantom, just 'cuz I want to. #CurrentlyReading #WanderingThroughWutheringHeights

We begin tomorrow! Join the #PemberLittens for a #ChapterAday readalong of Wuthering Heights. Use #WanderingThroughWutheringHeights, tag our fearless leader @Crinoline_Laphroaig, and enjoy a few articles and such below in the comments as a precursor to the main event!

In 2021, I met several reading goals, including reading 100+ new-to-me books; I am a huge re-reader and returning to old faves almost always outpaces new discoveries. It felt good to dive into so many new stories.

In 2022, I'm lowering my overall numbers goal and aiming to knock a few epics off my #TBR- I have more than a few waiting for me that are 750+ pages and I want this to be the year I dig in! What are your reading goals? #ReadingGoals2022

Taking a look back at 2021 in reading, and the tagged book was miles away my favorite of last year. Second place went to the Bridgerton series, if I'm honest; I binged it in about a week and it was the most silly reading fun I've had in some time. Solid honorable mentions include two #PersephonePicks (The Fortnight in September will be a yearly read for me) and Wintering, a wonderful reminder to slow down sometimes! #FavoriteReads #YearInReview

A bonus #PersephonePick as we close out the year, courtesy of my wonderful mom. ❤️ I think I need to re-read this one before I fully make up my mind about it; there is so much detail packed into these 119 short pages that I feel as though just one read only lets you scratch the surface of the various relationships and family dynamics. Does anyone have particularly strong feelings on this one? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Settling in with this lovely new-to-me copy of Candide- a Christmas gift from my husband who knows I love a good leather-bound classic! #CurrentlyReading

The Outsiders was such a formative book for me as a young reader, and when I heard about this reimagining, I was absolutely wild to get my hands on it. While nothing can capture the pure magic of the original, this homage offers some great twists and turns, and a moving look at a group of 60s Bad Girls. The relationships between the girls feel very real, and the societal expectations and judgements they navigate unfortunately feel fairly current.

Absurdly, one of the only things my husband and I argue about is Charles Bukowski. I despise him- abusive, misogynistic, angry and miserable. But my husband likes his style, and defiantly gifted me the tagged book a couple of years ago. I just got around to reading it, and finally found the author's humanity. Cats, man; they bring it out. "When I am feeling low, all I have to do is watch my cats and my courage returns." Same, Buk. Damn you.

This was a pick for me, mostly for the incredibly vivid writing, but beware- its a heartbreaking, gut-punching portrait of aging, decline, and dementia. We get the POV of our MC, who succumbs to memory loss, mood swings, and paranoia, as well as that of her cook, her live-in companion, old friends, and a doctor. Nobody gets off easily; there is suffering all around. But there's also real wit and an up-close look at humanity at its most vulnerable.

I treated myself to an early-birthday book haul today, sucked in purely by the setting of each- Glasgow, Madrid, Dublin, London...can you tell I'm longing for a big trip? Damn this pandemic (and my finances!)! #BookHaul #NewIn

#TomKitten chilling amongst the lady authors. This cat has good taste. #CatsOfLitsy

I'm only 30 pages in, and I already think this may be the most important book I've read all year. I'm a chronic workaholic and despite telling myself to slow down, to step back, I can never quite seem to release myself. This book is already reminding me, even gently chiding me, to remember that we all need to retreat sometimes. #CurrentlyReading

I'm so excited about reading with the #PemberLittens in '22! I've ordered the collection on Jane's writing, and I think I'll be reading the annotated S&S. As for Wuthering Heights, I'm going with this Collins Classics paperback- simple and gorgeous. Which editions will you be enjoying, fellow readers? #ReadingPlans #LookingAhead

GREAT QUESTION, LEO. #CurrentlyReading

SNORT. (Found a new fabulous Instagram account today.) #PemberLittens

Not book-related, just feeling grateful about spending the day in such a beautiful space. 😍 #DetroitLove #MittenLitten #SeeMoreOpera

An early Christmas gift from my husband arrived today! Do you subscribe, Littens, or have you done so in the past? I'll admit I'm psyched to dive in; reading about reading is one of my favorite genres! #OhReader #ReadingAboutReading

Beginning my final #PersephonePick of the year! It's been so much fun to read through these selections this year; I have definitely encountered rollicking stories, sobering history, and absolutely gorgeous writing. I still have a few unread in my collection to get me through the early months of next year, but then I guess I'll just have to buy a few more for '22. 😉 #CurrentlyReading #PersephoneBooks