This was a wonderful reread for me (even though I did confuse something that obviously happens in another book with this one 😀). I don't suppose Iris will be everyone's cup of tea, but I was once again impressed by her ability to convey in such detail people's emotional states, thoughts, motivations, blunderings... It's very much about love and grief and loving people that don't love us back but not told in a giddy, romantic way. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Daphne du Maurier looms large in my memories of teenage reading, but I think I've actually only ever read Jamaica Inn, The House on the Strand, and a collection of short stories. Rebecca passed me by for some reason. I saw the movie the other day, bought the book at the farmer's market and am rectifying this gap in my literary education!

I really can't give a reason for finishing this except stubbornness. It was among those 10 free books from Amazon. The writing is so bad and yet this woman has published more than one book? The character descriptions/motivations are poor, there are huge plot holes. Sorry, Carol, I won't be rushing to read the next in the series. ⭐

This was good - really well written, like his first novel. It was strange though, and I never reached a point where I fully understood it. Not for a lack of trying!

I blame @BarbaraJean about 90% for this and other Litsy readers the rest 🤪 The rest of the series isn't exactly as dirt cheap as the first one - what have I done?? I now know why this is so popular and I want more! Sometimes it's just a tiny, tiny bit too cute, but mostly I love her writing and cleverness. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I'm doing some rereading these days. Got some walking and reading in at the park (not at the same time 🤪) while my girls played (in cut grass, getting terribly dirty).

Very unique and beautifully written. Even where I couldn't quite relate, I loved the depictions of the characters' inner worlds. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Oh, I loved this so much! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A, melancholy quote for a melancholy evening:

"I was afraid of burglars and Indian thugs and snakes and fires and Jack the Ripper, when I should have been afraid of thirty years in a bank and a take-over bid and a premature retirement and the Deuil du Roy Albert."

I've been digesting this book for a few days, I guess. Parts of it really moved me. The author touches on the meaning of art, of productivity, of our worth when we're not busy doing something. But of course the main theme is Aids and I don't know what it would have been like to read this in 1994 when it came out. My main problem with the book is the way he writes the female main character-narrator because I don't think it's very successful. ⭐⭐⭐

A day of leave! We're at an amazing place for kids to play.

Just beautiful and wonderful and exquisitely written. It's not a grand book of the kind that are usually lauded as must-reads, but my favourite kind of hidden gem with countless beautiful sentences, a special something that speaks to my heart. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A few years ago, I bought this at the farmer's market in a blank moment of reading the author's name as Arundhati Roy 🙄. It has sat on my shelf, I read a little bit while I had covid in December, and somehow this Sunday afternoon it has found its way into my heart.

I got confused quite a bit but loved it! It was great to be devoured by a book again. Very impressive for a debut novel. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I don't quite get why this book is sometimes called the 7 1/2 deaths... Copyright stuff? Anyway, a very enjoyable read so far!

Goodreads tell me I finished this the first time just before Christmas in 2015. My life has changed so much! I once again found the book engrossing and somehow comforting in a way I can't explain to anybody. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I wouldn't call this the most enjoyable book I ever read, and sometimes I let it sit for a bit before returning to it, but in the end it is a well written, unique and interesting novel. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Yesterday, my boyfriend was telling about a googling typo that somehow led him to Mary Toft, and I remembered reading about this book! It happened to be less than $4 on Kindle, so here we are. One of the things I find most interesting very early on is the descriptions of the meals. Stewed lettuce, anyone?

This was so good! The narrative jumps around in time around a huge event in the narrator's life, and another pivotal event although it's not personally catastrophic. Anyway, I got a bit confused sometimes but not too badly and the writing is absolutely fantastic. Interestingly, and if you know me at all, exactly to my liking, you don't get a clear picture of where things end for the narrator, what lies next. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I started and got bored with a few books in a row, and then another Litten posted about his second book. I discovered they're both on Scribd and of course had no self-control. I adore John Darnielle/the Mountain Goats but I was wary... So many bad books are published every year, after all. But I need not have feared - brilliant lyricist, brilliant writer. So good so far.

This was still a fun read, but rather more emotionally intense than The Flatshare or The Switch. I liked the fact that she explored the characters' flaws and growth and things weren't just easy. I did want to kill some characters here and there, or at least get them to shut up, but mainly they crept into my heart and I wanted them to do well.

This was an interesting read by "the American Agatha Christie". It's again a slowly unfolding mystery written in the first person, but with a much smaller scope than "The man in lower ten" - much more intimate and emotional. It's rather hard to describe. Yet the writing is great and the story really pulled me in. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Wishing everyone a good day with family/friends/pets/books, whether you celebrate or just rest on this day. I'm looking forward to seeing people after being utterly alone due to covid! Thank you to all that make this community a happy place to be ❤️

I hate it when something I really want to read is only available in audio. Maybe this is terribly offensive to those from 🇺🇲 but I haven't found an audiobook read by an American yet that I could stomach! Really disappointing.

Book #10. Quite a finale to the series. I'm going to miss these books! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Book #9. I got quite confused! Another good read.

Book number 8. Another very good one!

At least covid is good for one thing: time to read!

Book number 6. Still very good, but somewhat old-fashioned in one respect.

Book number 5. I especially enjoyed the intricacies in this one!

I see now why this book is so popular! The writing isn't always that strong, but the story carries you forward. I loved the theme of women finding strength in expressing their sexuality and being able to stand up for themselves. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Another beautiful read from Krueger. The backdrop of the Indian boarding schools and the Great Depression are interwoven masterfully. Once again, there is a lot about God and pain and suffering, handled beautifully in my opinion. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I had a fucking awful day but am finally on my way home from Cape Town and got this for $3. It only occurred to me when I was walking away that I need something for the other kid...

I visited my cousin in a town about 1,5 hours out of Cape Town today. It was the first time we really spent time together as adults. Among other things, we talked about books we read to our children and she lent me this lovely volume that I had never ever heard of 😍💜

Having a wonderful time on the Cape Peninsula after a lot of anxiety earlier in the week. My friend took me of a tour along the coast of the peninsula this morning/early afternoon. It's so gorgeous here! And right now I have nothing to do except read my fantastic, completely engrossing book. I'm so lucky!

Up next! On my way to Cape Town (well, the Cape Peninsula, my new favourite place) for a week of work training. I've been wanting to read this forever.

I wouldn't quite agree (with Scribd) that this is literary fiction, but I still enjoyed it immensely! At one point, the cast of characters became a bit overwhelming, but it all came together beautifully. A fun but meaningful read. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I thought this was wonderful. I'm so sick of books where being a Christian is equated with having a terrible experience and then blaming God for not miraculously intervening. This is like a treatise on theodicy in novel form, but also on happiness, contentment and the fact that life simply is hard - but also beautiful. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I loved this book! It explores sex, people's longing for intimacy and pleasure, shame, judgment and fear of judgement, friendship... It's about a mother and daughter and terrible events that sets in motion a beautiful flowering in their lives in the end. Elizabeth Strout is a wonderful writer, quickly becoming a favourite. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I loved this! As others have mentioned, it's quite different from the show. A lot of it is her childhood memories, discovering the world of books and thinking her own thoughts. I find this world fascinating (can you say huge Chaim Potok fan) but honestly, Potok is a man and a huge dimension of women's suffering in this world had never been clear to me until reading this. I think she's remarkable!

Oh my word, it took me forever to finish this book. I think I expected too much. Or maybe it was just the extremely questionable theology towards the end that put me off! ⭐⭐⭐

No!! I've been absolutely engrossed in this one, trying to figure out what connects a bunch of bizarre events and murders. I have 7% left and my old, old Kindle's screen is scrambled. I hope I can fix it! I think it happened before and recovered...

Book four. Sister Joan doesn't even get to catch her breath after returning from retreat before some rather gruesome events that touch the convent unfold. A few red herrings and a fairly interesting resolution.

Book three. After her involvement with police matters in book two, Sister Joan gets sent to the order's remote retreat in Scotland by a beautiful loch. Of course a mystery unfolds. This one had such a fun subtwist that I loved 🙂

Book two. Sister Joan is now fully part of the community in Cornwall she was sent to from London to look into what was happening there (in the first book). This one gets into slightly darker territory. I don't suppose the Catholic, contemplative angle will be everybody's cup of tea but I really love these books!

So we have local government elections today and I was at my voting station nice and early and reading the second Sister Joan mystery. Not sure what people thought every time I burst out laughing 🙂 this one has some good humour and a nice intriguing mystery so far!

My sister told me about the Sister Joan mysteries and I just flew through the first one. Perfect read for a stressful time. There are some heavier parts and it's not just fluff, but still a very relaxing and entertaining read. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

It was... Okay. I was interested to read in the acknowledgements that Lillian was based on a real advertising woman, because that was the part of the book that I liked least. Some parts of the book were really charming and others were just so-so. I know all these protofeminist novels are very in right now. I consider myself a feminist so I don't really know what it is I generally don't like about them. Anyway, that's my #unpopularopinion. ⭐⭐⭐

I loved the book but could remember nothing of the movie, so I started rewatching it. Oh my word, he changed so much! There are so many delightful details and plot lines in the book that completely disappeared. Really worth the read for any true fantasy lover 😉 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Life has been rather crazy lately and reading has been slow. Started Henrietta Lacks, haven't finished it. Started Lillian Boxfish, finding it quite boring for some reason. But then I picked up Howl's Moving Castle, which I got at the farmers market a few weeks ago. I never read it before. So far, I'm really enjoying it and it's actually making me want to read, not social media or TV or anything else in my down time.