pickThere were definitely moments in her life that I connected with, but in many ways for all her celebrity, this is just the story of a life. I would really recommend this (especially on audio) for people who are already fans of her music. Because what really struck me here, was hearing the stories behind songs I already knew well, and listening to her sing the songs she‘d just been discussing writing and performing at the end of each chapter.
I‘m so fickle. I think whichever Austen I‘m reading at the moment always becomes my favorite Austen all over again, until I pick up another 😂
pickI don‘t know if I‘ll manage to read a new one of her‘s for #AAM or not, but I‘m really glad I decided to start by rereading this because I found it much more affecting the second time, and I also found I was better able to to approach it inquisitively several more years post pandemic as life is actually snapping back to normal. I also think her books may work better for me in print than on audio. @Soubhiville
#5JoysFriday
@DebinHawaii
1. I finished April with several books that really spoke to me, including Zorrie which has been lingering in my mind in the best way
2. I‘ve been getting back into the habit of listening to music every day #musicheals
3. I got word that a Rabbi I work closely with was involved in a major peace protest action near the Gaza border and I found her words about it really heartening
I‘ve been waiting excitedly for Spin Day!!!! #bookspin sent me running to my Living Room Bookshelves to find a new title and I decided on Frida‘s Bed, and #doublespin is something from an ongoing series and it‘s been way too many months since I picked up a Miss Marple. Happy reading everyone, thanks @TheAromaofBooks !!!
#SundayBuddyRead friends! I just opened our new book and found this deco underlay on the first page of each chapter!!!!! I‘ve never seen this before and I‘m totally in love with it! Do your copies have this?
pickThis YA urban fantasy was recommended to me by a friend who was 💯certain the story was an allegory for something specific. I definitely see what they saw in the story, but if I hadn‘t gone into it with their voice in my mind I wonder how much more fluid my interpretation would be…
The world still feels upside down this week, but several things, including music, are starting to feel more heartening #tuesdaytunes https://youtu.be/fWSZJ2_y9cA?feature=shared
#ReadAway2024 update: April was my best month to date for my read from my own shelves project! I read 6 owned books which was 40% of my total reading this month. Several were rereads, but several have been sitting on my shelves unread just this side of forever. April was also an exceptionally good month in terms of reading things that spoke to me so I should definitely keep reading from my own shelves and all the other things I did this month.
pickI find it so fascinating that as I get older this is starting to become one of my favorite Austen‘s even though Fanny and I are nothing alike, and IRL as I get older I actually get less and less patient with persistent romantic advances, and probably wouldnt‘ve forgiven Edmund for his part in the whole “just give Henry a chance” campaign.
#pemberlittens I couldn‘t sleep and stumbled across this set of books where someone has compiled 50-100 illustrations for each novel from illustrated editions published circa 1830-1910 by 5 different illustrators. I may have to have them all!!!!! But I‘m thinking I should start with Mansfield. I‘m rereading it right now, and my Chiltern copy is stunning but totally devoid of pictures.
panI‘m not panning this because it‘s bad, I just wasn‘t the intended audience. Sometimes graphic memoirs reach out and touch deeply me even when they‘re wrestling with questions I‘m not, or I‘ve already answered. This one didn‘t. It was more like rambling conversations I‘ve had with friends over the years trying to sort out ourselves and our lives. Which makes the book essential if you don‘t know people actually asking these questions when you are.
pick@BarkingMadRead Thank you for taking us to Manderley this month! No matter how many times I read this I fall in love with it all over again! #hashtagbrigade #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks
pickThis is exactly why I love letting other people pick some of my reads! You could seriously never have described this in a sentence or two in a way that would‘ve made me think I wanted to spend a month savoring this novella, but I would have been wrong. This was exactly what I didn‘t know I needed, wanted, was looking for right now… #sundaybuddyread
pickI actually finished it! It took a year & a half of reading on & off & several false starts before that, but while I couldn‘t get it to sustain my attention consistently, I really loved this when I was actually reading it! The French history plot line went over my head & I can‘t seem to follow battle scenes, but I loved how suffused this was with progressive philosophy, raw emotion, & beautiful writing. I‘d totally make this a🏝️📖pick. #doublespin
The past week has been unbearably stressful with several deaths in the family/extended family, some political upheaval overseas that affects my family profoundly, a major holiday dawning and some health issues… so it‘s no surprise that I‘m projecting my mind into next month in all the little ways possible, hoping that another week will make the world seem lighter. #bookspin #doublespin @TheAromaofBooks
pickSadly, I think I‘m going to have to admit that I‘m not in a place where I can stick to a CAD pace for retellings and make this my last #janeadjacent read. I finished all of the last 4 or 5 books I‘ve joined the group for early for one reason or another. I never quite got on board with any of the romances in this one, but I really liked the unique take on magic and that was definitely enough to make this a low pick for me. @StayCurious
“It seemed incredible to me now that I had never understood. I wondered how many people there were in the world who suffered, and continued to suffer, because they could not break out from their own web of shyness and reserve, and in their blindness and folly built up a great distorted wall in front of them that hid the truth.“ #hashtagbrigade
“It doesn't make for sanity, does it, living with the devil.” #hashtagbrigade
“I'm in bed with my wife, Catherine, and
our two little girls with their sweet-smelling heads snuggled between us.” #firstlinefridays @ShyBookOwl
so-soI‘m a huge fan of Shaun Tan‘s work and I expected this to be my favorite yet since glimpses into the artists‘ mind is usually my jam, but for me this was #goodnotgreat The good was it was unexpected, I found a few unique insights, I got to see a new side of his painting style, I learned a few things about the man behind the work, but I felt less drawn in by the drawings when they weren‘t connected by a narrative and a lot of the writing felt flat.
pickReading this as a girl I remember being charmed by the idea of having lots of kids, but now I just kept thinking 6 children is WAY too many children 😂
“Then I heard a step behind me and turning round I saw Mrs Danvers. I shall never forget the expression on her face. Triumphant, gloating, excited in a strange unhealthy way. I felt very frightened.” #hashtagbrigade
“For one desperate moment I thought that something had happened to my brain, that I was seeing back into Time, and looking upon the room as it used to be, before she died… In a minute Rebecca herself would come back into the room, sit down before the looking-glass, and she would see me too” #hashtagbrigade
“Oh, God, I thought, this is like two people in a play, in a moment the curtain will come down, we shall bow to the audience, and go off to our dressing-rooms.” #hashtagbrigade
I haven‘t written poetry in what feels like forever, but these verses are unlocking something in me and I‘m finally scratching down a few lines and ideas! It‘s such a relief! ✍🏼🗒️🤍
“And then I knew that the vanished scent upon the handkerchief was the same as the crushed white petals of the azaleas in the Happy Valley.”
#hashtagbrigade
“…I had the odd, uneasy feeling that I might come upon something unawares, that I had no wish to see. Something that might harm me, that might be horrible. It was nonsense of course,”
#hashtagbrigade
pickI picked this up during #hyggehour last night and read most of it in one sitting. I‘ve been intimidated to read On Earth We‘re Briefly Gorgeous, and starting with his poetry felt more familiar. Now I want to read everything he‘s written! This was a comforting read for me. Pain mixed with beauty. The kind of spare writing that shuts out distractions and doesn‘t leave room to get lost in despair.
pickMohammed El-Kurd‘s poetry about life in Palestine, the effects of the Nakba, and his grandmother‘s legacy hit me really hard, gave me a lot to contemplate, and is something I know will stay with me. I‘m definitely going to get my own print copy of this so I can revisit some of the thoughts.
The Virgil spine might be speaking to me, but Virgil is not. I just don‘t have the brain capacity for this right now. However I‘m loving every single second I‘m spending reading Du Maurier, and that spine is at least as incredible. Since I started doing categories I‘ve always picked my books for the month right when the numbers came out, and changing them feels a bit like cheating, so I could just DNF The Aeneid and be done with my #bookspin ⬇️
pickIs this a memoir, a family history, philosophical musings on Zen Buddhism, Noh theater, or American vanity, a creative experiment, a meditation, all of the above? I didn‘t find anything particularly profound here, but it was a compelling listen and falls under the enjoyable surprise category for me. #authoramonth @Soubhiville
'Of course, she said, you know why he is marrying you, don't you? You haven't flattered yourself he‘s in love with you? The fact is that empty house got on his nerves to such an extent he nearly went off his head. He admitted as much before you came into the room. He just can't go on living there alone…‘
#hashtagbrigade I‘m curious what you guys think ⬇️
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