Once I started, I couldn‘t put this book down. I eagerly turned the pages in half anticipation half suspense in following Rakoff‘s job as the assistant to J.D. Salinger‘s agent. When Rakoff shared she‘d never read Salinger‘s work as it never came up in school or interest; I felt connection. As I too have never read his work. 😬 Yet when she describes how moved she was when she did, I‘m tempted to make this year a Salinger reading year. More ⬇️

I enjoyed this one immensely. I needed the soothing rhythm of Stevenson even though the circumstances the daughters are in were hardly soothing. I was disappointed in the loss of Anna as a character once she remarried. The tidy far too convenient way we reached the happy ending. And after rereading the passage, I‘m irked we aren‘t told what exactly was wrong with Helen? And I missed the witty acerbic Augusta Millard. #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub

A dramatic scene that broke my heart for Rosalie! And left me wondering what exactly the timely “little red pill” was provided by Mother.

I‘m finishing this #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub read at the eleventh hour! Then will backtrack to the discussion! 🥴

📬Recent bookmail.
Season of Snows has newlyweds torn apart by the war. While the husband is serving, the wife finds herself being pursued by the married partner at the firm where she works. Then her newly released POW husband returns. (Queue dramatic 🎶)
Cottage Sinister is one of the Quentin books that is co-written by a woman. And it sounds like a terrific read.
Doesn‘t this Belgian chocolate bar look like the perfect Middlebrow accompaniment?

4⭐️ The “tragic comedic elements often found in domestic relationships” (Guardian quote from her obituary) were indeed present in this novel. I found the writing acerbically funny, entertaining (see scene where teenagers throw house party), and reflective on stages of moving on in relationships. That being said, the ending disappointed me. To be fair, Mrs Fytton was always clear on her end aim. I, the reader, just didn‘t believe her.

Currently reading. My first Mavis Cheek novel and at 33 pages in, I know I‘ll be seeking out her others. Her writing so far is clever and relatable. Any one else read her novels and enjoy her work?

#JessReads2024

What stood out for me was the departure from family centered domesticity to outright family dysfunction in this Scarlett novel. The heroine isn‘t a beloved older daughter from a loving family, but a more worldly veteran of bombings, factory work, and trained in nursing on the job. The villain is pure evil. The victims undeserving and vulnerable- which was the hardest part of the book for me to read. Overall, a page turner on a blustery winter day.

I spotted a well loved edition of Cranford in the library of Meadowbrook Hall. I asked the docent if the family read the books in the library or collected books. I was told the books were the family‘s books, they indeed read them, however, there was a secret staircase leading to a loft for the less visually appealing paperbacks. I said “Oh, the books they didn‘t want people seeing they read?” and the docent didn‘t find me funny. She said no.

“A stylish and penetrating comedy of manners: Chekhov with more cigarettes and English emotional frigidity..”

I happily was influenced by bookstagram to buy this one. But the book blurb on the back cover has me sold! Slipping in a holiday read under the wire it feels like. Where has December gone? And still, I‘ve managed to find the time to eat far too many Christmas cookies. 🎄

Happy Mail from yesterday! It‘s something to look forward to when I rest my feet after hosting Thanksgiving today. 🧡 Anyone else get their copy?

So glad for the lovely #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub members that tagged me in all their lovely reviews. I immediately got hustling to participate and enjoyed the book immensely. I love reading books that make me smile while reading. The wholesomely sweet Carson family charmed me. Just the right amount of light suspense in a jealous cousin, young romance, and a happy Christmas ending was what I needed.

My picks for #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub May 2024 are a DSP published Golden Age Mystery by Annie Haynes and (I think Cate and I had Elizabeth Fair on the brain for 2024!) “Bramton Wick. I‘ll tag that book in the comments. Both are written by authors I‘ve been meaning to read for awhile now. Litsy doesn‘t have blurbs for either- I‘ve linked them below for plot descriptions 😄

❄️I‘m very much looking forward to diving into this one. Simon Thomas always writes the best, most well informed, and interesting forwards to the British Library Women Writers series. Anyone else got this on order or have plans to read?

-It appears it hasn‘t been added to Litsy yet-
#britishlibrarywomenwriters #middlebrow

🦊Friday evening unwind.

Looking forward to seeing everyone‘s weekend reading plans!

Her sentence about having her “real life” just resonates. Summer is a lovely season. It also tends to be a busy social season. Routine is shifted, personal time is allocated differently, and I find my reading life has to become one I fight for in the summer months. It‘s nice to be able to shift in and out of real life for a bit.

Saturday morning coffee, baklava, and the Raising the Middlebrow bookclub (on GR) July selection. Which I‘m told the cover of this book is atrocious in keeping with the plot. And a fellow member observed Dickens portrayal of post war life is very different than Panter-Downes‘ portrayal in One Fine Day (June read). All of which makes me eager to dive to see what it‘s all about. Has anyone else read this one? Would love to hear your thoughts!

I am still slowly savoring May Sarton‘s words. She‘s got me contemplating the clusters of my life and finding comfort in the knowledge they occur. I am hoping to embrace a brief cluster of bookish solitude this weekend. 🌻💛

“After all, it is summer. You are on holiday. You are in the company of your own choosing. The air is clean. You can smell wild fennel and thyme, dry resinous pine needles, the sea. For my part, I ask no greater luxury. Indeed I can think of none”

O‘Neill says “I don‘t return to Elizabeth David to remember how to cook, I read her to remember how I wanted to live and why I learned to cook in the first place.” I completely agree.

I always have a bit of dread on a buddy read when I didn‘t enjoy the book. Especially when I didn‘t select it. This one falls into that uncomfortable bookish category for me.

I was kept interested in the whodunnit, but the characters didn‘t seem likable and the ending unbelievable. In a sensational sort of a way that left me disappointed. It was my first French novel so perhaps it wasn‘t the right one since she‘s so popular an author?

📚📬Bookmail Day!

This one sounds like it could be a good bookclub or group read. Anyone read it?

#virago #middlebrow #viragobooks

Review: 5⭐️ Run for a copy! All are part of the Kindle Unlimited program. And then I promptly treated myself to the set for my rereads. I couldn‘t put the books down, until the moments I was laughing too hard to keep reading. If you love a brave, cynical, witty heroine and an assorted cast of lovable friends, frenemies, and mortal enemies; this is your series! Emma‘s adventures while saving herself from ruin and grief will move you.

“Begin here. It is raining”

Aptly, it‘s raining here too. And as May describes the rain ticking at the window, I hear it too.

I won‘t stoop to calling her a “windbag” like one reviewer did. She was 89 when she wrote this. She‘s entitled to a bit of a droning on. My disappointment was in the lack of sharing about her editor days and bookish tidbits. But that fault lies with me; the book never promised that. Overall, glad to have read it. Yet, I can‘t quite recommend it. Left it in a Free Library stand with the hopes someone else loves it more than I did. ⬇️

Back from a long hiatus combined with a Savannah, GA trip. Which is never complete unless I visit the bookshop cats at E.Shaver (subsequent purchases ensue) and The Booklady Bookshop where luck brought me two Virago green spines.

3⭐️ and not even in the Litsy database. I wanted to like this one and did for the first half. Then the story seemed to have lost its way. Morton writes out a main character unexpectedly. The rest of cast wallows in their emotions and engages melodramatically in classist behavior. It was a shame because the plot was original and building upon nature vs nurture.

#jessreads2023 #vintageread #bookreview

As @Ruthiella mentioned, it‘s a fast read once picked up! I was absorbed in needing resolutions to each of the characters‘ stories. Angela‘s struggle with trying to help Peter knowing the correct societal norm would be to marry yet she‘s got a brilliant career ahead of her was moving. She‘s lived a life and has one ahead of her. Beauchamp‘s portrayal of the mental and physical results of the war on soldiers along with the impact of their return ⬇️

“Gardeners are simply custodians, each handing on the tradition of stewardship, of protecting the land and caring for the ground, until the next generation succeeds us”

This resonated with me. Holt‘s gorgeous writing and passion for native plants spoke to my plant loving heart. I could identify with her efforts in hacking back the wilderness of an overgrown plot and transforming it into a fragrant colorful paradise. Marvelous! #jessreads2023

4⭐️ As an aspiring seasonal reader, the title caught my eye. Fresh off of my first Susan Scarlett novel, I was curious how this compares. This one is less romance more focus on family dynamics during the beginning of WW2 and the impact of taking an evacuee family in. The main female lead is selfish and immature (imo) but experiences character growth. She has conflict with her husband and carries it over to her in laws. ⬇️ #jessreads2023

A 2023 reading goal is to always have a nonfiction or biography running simultaneously with my fiction reading. This 2nd 2023 bio read conversationally while slipping into a Who‘s Who List on influential people Chanel mingled with. To sum it up, Chanel was mysterious, inventive, prone to mixing truth with omission and embellishment in the story of her life. Chaney tried to piece it together but it‘s very surface level and speculative at times. ⬇️

“She has a powerful imagination, and systemically thinks the worst of everyone.
‘The typical elderly spinster, in fact,” said Melchett with a laugh. “Well, I ought to know the breed by now. Gad, the tea parties down here!”

I couldn‘t put it down! I meant to read it slowly for the #goldenagecrimeclub discussion at the end of the month. It was too fantastic of a read. The Vicar as a narrator and an unknowing Watson to Miss Marple was perfect.

“Again I called. ‘Miss Hargreaves-Miss Hargreaves-‘ “

This was a pure pleasure to read. I felt thrust into a whirlwind of dizzying action following Norman‘s experiences with a creation from his imagination, Miss Hargreaves. His fibs have turned into a reality and now he‘s got to control his creation, before she controls him? It‘s comedic gold and yet, I read it with suspense in having to know how it ends! I hope to read more Frank Baker in 2023.

This was exactly what I needed on my last free day before holiday is over. A lovely selection by #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub and my first Susan Scarlett read. It‘s a simple story of a naive girl becoming a model in a dress shop and meeting a Lord to fall in love with. My favorite parts belong to the periphery characters- her parents and hard life knocks fellow model Bernadette. It‘s a sweet story of young love, friendship, and happy ending.

This was exactly what I needed on my last free day before holiday is over. A lovely selection by #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub and my first Susan Scarlett read. It‘s a simple story of a naive girl becoming a model in a dress shop and meeting a Lord to fall in love with. My favorite parts belong to the periphery characters- her parents and hard life knocks fellow model Bernadette. It‘s a sweet story of young love, friendship, and happy ending.

📚Starting the January #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub selection today. My first Susan Scarlett novel too!

#jessreads2023

4⭐️ to the author on substantial research and time sourcing interview material. The subject is 2⭐️? The obscene wealth, capricious cruelty to family and friends, thoughtlessness, and selfishness could not make up for philanthropic gift giving. Which quite frankly seemed ego driven rather than altruistic. I can‘t recommend it as I closed it more irritated with the divide and concentration of wealth. That‘s life, I suppose.
#jessreads2023

Begin as you mean to go on? If that‘s true, then hopefully 2023 will be a chunkster reading (516 pages) style legend sort of year.
In all seriousness, this has been a fascinating read. Also disturbing at the obscene amount of wealth some people have. The jaw dropping excess has troubled me more than I expected. I normally enjoy vicarious luxury but sending your private plane back to Palm Springs for a forgotten scarf is a bit much.
#jessreads2023

🥂🥳Farewell 2022 and thanks for the lovely reads you brought me!
#jessreads2022

The struggle of one man to reclaim order to his holiday season beginning in October was quite humorously written. Mr Baxter endeavors to have his wife stick to a budget, trim down the Christmas card addressee list, and attempts to resist the “machinery” of the holiday. Despite his intentions, he remains a sentimentalist and gamely finds himself embroiled in holiday predicaments such as office parties and gift buying.
#jessreads2022

I wanted to love this one, especially as a few of these authors are favorites. But some stories read a bit bleak or didn‘t have a strong festive theme. The blurb statement “these stories are sure to fortify you over the Christmas period” didn‘t quite ring true for me. I did very much enjoy Audrey Burton‘s “Ticket for a Carol Concert”🎄

#BritishLibraryWomenWriters #JessReads2022

“Nothing much changes in Nettleford, darling. We just get a little older…”

🎄Loving this seasonal read while (finally) starting a small holiday break from work.

#jessreads2022

This one was completely absorbing. Acland tells the story of Henry Aspen of Templeford Park and Mildred Charing of Blagdon Manor. Two neighbors and their friends coming of age in the English countryside makes for a relaxing beginning. However pride, ego, and a series of misunderstandings leads to life altering choices. Acland brings us to a resolution and lesson in her ending.
Terrific book albeit a bit rushed in the end.

#jessreads2022

A new to me Golden Age British mystery writer. Brand uses her experience as a salesgirl in this first novel (1941) which she based on “a fantasy of murdering an irritating coworker”.
My thoughts in order:
1. 🫢 OMG.
2. I‘m glad I don‘t work in her HR.
3. Did they even have HR back then?
4. Hope she kept that bit to herself for awhile and didn‘t share it til she left.
#jessreads2022
🐈‍⬛ 📸 Lola Cat cameo

Dear reader, I order the sequel and promptly followed the author on Twitter (her only social media, I believe, without being too stalkerish) halfway through this wonderful mystery. I loved the writing, the characters, the plot. I might have guessed at one plot line but was surprised in the end when the case tidily wrapped up. A post WW1 mystery dealing with “shell shock” and the lives left in the aftermath of it all.
#jessreads2022

The September Raising the Middlebrow Book Club selection on Goodreads. My second Whipple and I rather enjoyed it! I couldn‘t stop myself from some comparison to the play/movie “The Women”. I kept picturing the main character Ellen as Norma Shearer. It‘s a look at a happy family and marriage where infidelity takes place. The ending was unsatisfactory but I might say the same for “The Women” depending where your sympathies lie.

I believe this was the first biography I‘ve read that I couldn‘t put down! Worsley‘s conversational yet educational tone made this incredibly enjoyable. The confiding manner in which she writes has moments shared that show how relatable Christie can be. A rather brilliant life led with problematic moments thoughtfully addressed. Highly recommend this one! #jessreads2022

🎄Ohhh! So excited to see this pop up in the book news. I‘ve enjoyed buying the British Library Women Writers series. The three authors mentioned alone on the cover have me reaching for my wallet.💸📖

I enjoyed this quite a bit, being drawn in by the rural spell as the tenants were. I couldn‘t shake the feeling of melancholy that sat with me while reading. I think because the narrator sets the reader up for the inevitable departure? The domestic burden placed on the mother was overwhelming. I‘d be haunted by the scullery maid‘s ghost too! It felt like a social experiment at times bridging the gap between the old and new post war world.

It‘s a mark of a good author, in my humble opinion, that keeps me buying each 400+ page book in a mystery series that is now nine books and counting. I have come to adore Lane Winslow and the characters I‘ve met in King‘s Cove. Just a brilliantly and thoughtfully written whodunnit series.

#jessreads2022

☕️It‘s a pumpkin spice english muffin kind of morning.

🧈Reading Middlebrow fiction has made me appreciate some of life‘s luxuries… like butter. As I was over generously slathering it on today, I wondered how much of a ration I used on a single meal. And was grateful that I have so much.

📖The promising start I‘ve heard from other #FurrowedMiddlebrowClub members made me move this one to the top of the reading pile!

“By all these lovely tokens, September days are here. With summer's best of weather and autumn's best of cheer."- Helen Hunt Jackson?

It‘s 90 degrees and humid out. But I‘ve got college football on in the background for ambiance while digging into my autumnal periodicals. Enjoy these last dog days of summer, friends, on this fine weekend.

#jessreads2022