When you wake up in the morning and the social media algorithm is absolutely clocking you. 🤣 Who else here has an embarrassing dalliance with this book in their past? #ItsJustFanFic #IWas13OKAY #ButIReReadItToThisDay

I hate to see a long weekend go, but at least I got to spend this Sunday wrapped in a blanket reading this powerful, important novella. It is one of the few books about Stalin's Great Purge written during the actual events and centers on the experience of an everyday woman in Leningrad. It was written and hidden away by the author and a number of her friends, published first in France but not in Russia until nearly 50 years after it was written.

"Woe is me! What have I done to deserve not being the center of attention at all times?!" (#TomKitten when I try to read.) #CatsOfLitsy

It's been a loooong year with this book! Kelly's ideas offer some real ups and downs- the undercurrent of violence and unrest in P&P, sure; but Northanger and the danger of pregnancy? Half siblings in Wickham and Darcy, Harriet Smith and Jane Fairfax? I have to laugh. The chapter on Persuasion is bland by comparison, framing the novel as commentary on the uncertainty and malleability of all things, from great empires to the human heart. 👇👇👇

Stopping for mid-morning tea and time to finish Deresiewicz's excellent reflections on Austen. I've always really enjoyed this book, and it was fun to read it this year chapter by chapter after each associated work. In Persuasion, he focuses on the meaning of friendship and chosen family. After all, Anne didn't have much love from her family circle but "she found, at Lyme, what she did not know she'd been searching for: something to belong to."

Maybe there are people who can visit the Drama Book Shop and walk away without making a purchase, but I wouldn't know anything about that! New reads alongside a week's worth of Playbills; nothing like a solid theatre trip! #SeeMoreTheatre

This gorgeous Cranford edition saw me through the last week of Persuasion, through the necessary tedium of Mrs. Smith's backstory and into the sheer stomach-churning joy of Wentworth's letter. Truly, nothing I've ever read in any romance comes close to the power of that entire chapter, culminating with *the greatest* letter any man, fictional or living, has ever put to paper. Do not fight me on this, I will live happily in the hyperbole forever!

Another week of Persuasion has come! We're really flying through it now- the Lyme trip, complete with Louisa's unfortunate flirting accident, has come and gone, and now the fam is onto Bath. Anne is resentful and resigned but mayyyybe Mr. Elliot will make things a little better? And then again, as we (and Anne) start to see, maybe not. 🙃 This week's copy is the stunning painted edition by Harper Muse Classics which I'm obsessed with. So gorgeous!

Sorry I'm not showing off the edition I've been reading (the Annotated Persuasion, highly recommend!) but I need to geek out over my weekend trip up north and visits from chickadees that will eat right out of your hand. 😍 Making good progress on the story, though- Anne is shipped off for a time to wait on her spoiled hypochondriac sister Mary, and of course, Wentworth starts coming around! It is painful and awkward and I love every second of it.

Dying at every bit of this, from the costume to the caption to the #NYRB response. 🤣😭

Week 1: Just two chapters in on my weekly Sunday Persuasion round-up! We get tea on the whole Elliot clan from vain Sir Walter to his disappointed, deceased lady, and his three daughters: Elizabeth (hot but shallow), Anne (sensible and sweet, but ignored) and Mary (semi-important because she married rich, BUT not titled). They're in dire financial straits so time to up sticks and move to Bath! Notes on the pictured edition in the comments. 👇👇👇

It feels so right to be ending a year of Austen's novels with Persuasion. It's probably my favorite of her works, and as such, I have 10 copies to choose from. 😭 (I have a problem!) This time I'll be cycling through some choice editions and posting a weekly recap. Maybe next year I'll meme my way through it, but for now, I'm going let it all wash over me and just enjoy a dose of my favorite Austen during my favorite season. 🍁🫖📚🧡

I'm counting this as an Emma-adjacent read, as Persephone's edition dates from 1816 when Emma was published, and they often recommend it to Austen lovers. It was fun to read and imagine what would resonate with our characters: for Robert Martin, certainly the sections on keeping livestock; for Mr. Woodhouse, the part about recipes for the sick; and as for Emma herself, as the lady of the house, how much do you think she consulted on menus, etc.?

I really loved this queer YA take on Emma! Emmett has a large friend group and no interest in having a boyfriend...but that doesn't mean he can't make the people around him happy. The loss of his mother looms large in this one and this Mr. Woodhouse's concern for Emmett's health is actually kind of disturbing, but overall I think the spin works well. And check out the cover underneath the dust jacket- swoon! 😍 #PemberLittens #JaneAustenThenAndNow

"Go ahead and move me. Just try it." #TomKitten stops me reading at every opportunity. ? #CatsOfLitsy

Finally catching up to reflect on the #BetsyTacyConvention! *Seven years* after committing to do the thing and being thwarted by the pandemic, it was a joy to finally make it happen. 200 fans converged on Deep Valley to see the houses, walk through Emily's slough, visit Lincoln Park, and connect with new and old friends. I'm so grateful and so tired and most of all, so thankful for Maud's writing and the gift of these beautiful stories. ❤️

Minnesota Littens, I've been having quite a month in your state! After a week in Mankato for the Betsy-Tacy Convention, I came back to Minneapolis for a work conference and have been having too good a time at your bookstores (Birchbark, my love!) and at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts (swoon!). Pictured are some new titles I'll be taking home along with so many photos of your gorgeous cities in the fall. Can't wait to visit again soon!

"The present of a friend." ❤️ #BetsyTacyConvention #VisitDeepValley #MaudHartLovelace #BetsyTacyAndTib

#iykyk #BetsyTacyConvention #DeepValley #MaudHartLovelace #BetsyTacyAndTib

My September was filled with pop culture-related audiobooks! The Spiderman musical was a disaster none of us could look away from and I appreciated the inside scoop. I loved Jeffery and Cole Casserole back in the day, and Jeffery Self's memoir is crushingly honest and hilarious. Harvey Fierstein is a legend and his memoir is a must for everyone, while anything related to Spinal Tap, one of my favorite movies of all time, never fails to disappoint.

It's the "Now" time of #JaneAustenThenAndNow and I'm challenging myself to tackle a whole pile of Emma adaptations and retellings! I'm hitting more movie and TV versions than ever, as it's been years since I've seen most of them, and I threw some new-to-me titles on this list as well. What are you taking on this month, #PemberLittens?

1. This was my 9th or 10th reading? I can't keep track anymore! My viewpoint hasn't shifted too much over the years; Emma has always been low on my Austen List but I've found new things to appreciate each time through.

2. It's complicated! Its a coming-of-age story so of course we have to see how she grows and God knows I regret things I did and said at 20...! But at the same time, her shallow snobbery grates on me. 👇👇

On Emma: Kelly suggests Knightley is in the process of enclosure, or privatizing formerly common land. After all, the "gipsies" were hanging about the lanes which must mean that their usual campsite was inaccessible, and the incident of turkey theft in the last chapters means that more villagers of Highbury are going hungry. Honestly, her ideas intrigue me, but then she also mentions that Harriet and Jane Fairfax are half sisters and girl, what?

Tweets About Emma, Part 2: I love Brandon Taylor. ? I'm so here for the distinction between "favorite" and "best", because YES. And the follow-up tweet is petty snark at its finest. Where is Emma on your Austen favorites list, #PemberLittens? #JaneAustenThenAndNow

I love a rainy night and hot apple cider, with Deresiewicz's meditation on Emma: "These things matter because they matter to the characters themselves. They made up the texture of their lives and gave their existence its savor...those small, "trivial" everyday things, the things that happen hour by hour to the people in our lives; that, [Austen] was telling us, is what the fabric of our years really consist of. That is what life is really about."

Tweets About Emma, Part 1: What resonates with you, #PemberLittens? 😂 #JaneAustenThenAndNow

I've been speeding through this one and was coming to the close when a chance day hike came my way. What a pleasure to end as I started, surrounded by the gorgeous outdoors! I've read Emma many times and in many humors, and this time I really tried to notice the character's finer qualities. Obviously her change of heart is deeply felt and her care for her father drives nearly everything she does- but I will still never truly love this book. 👇👇👇

Emma being asked to comment on Mrs. E and only responding that she is "very elegantly dressed" is the original Shady Aretha moment and it absolutely sent me. ? Anyway, we're starting to see Emma's growth now. Mrs. W and Knightley hint that she hasn't been behaving well toward Jane and Emma internally agrees. She also recognizes that though she dislikes the Eltons, its her role as a leader in society to throw them a dinner- and she does! Progress!

I'm reading ahead, but I can't stop! Mrs. E brings a new energy to the book when she appears and I love how much Emma detests her. And even though I know she's set up to be vulgar and unlikeable, I always feel a strange empathy for her at first in being transplanted to a new place. And is her condescending "adoption" of Jane Fairfax in the coming chapters so different from Emma's relationship with Harriet? Where are you on Augusta, #PemberLittens?

I loved re-reading this classic on my own September vacation this year. Though mine wasn't a fortnight (hooray for the USA 🙃) it was such a needed getaway. I was again struck by the small, beautifully rendered details of the book, and how, along with the general break in routine and surroundings, it was the time and space to be on their own that was the true means by which each family member was able to refresh and refill their mental energy.

Frank actually shows up in Highbury! Emma is charmed by his easy gregariousness but Knightley sizes him up as an affected, preening fop. Meanwhile, the Coles are throwing a party and Emma is dying to reject their invitation - but then it doesn't come?! How absolute dare! When it belatedly shows up, she actually agrees to grace them with her presence and even condescends to sing and play for them. And then Jane performs after her and *crushes it*.

What news! Elton is engaged to one Miss Hawkins of Bristol. He swans around in triumph over his hot, rich wife-to-be, but Emma clocks the truth ‐ she's pretty enough but she has no real class or connections, and worst of all, her family money was made in some totally dubious way. The narrator throws some shade here and I'm curious about your thoughts, #PemberLittens - does the new Mrs. E have slave-trade connections? (Article link in comments!)

Today's chapters give us the backstory on yet another orphaned kid from Highbury, Jane Fairfax. Niece to the chatterbox Miss Bates, Jane is being raised and educated by friends of her father, the Campbells. Emma suspects some drama between Jane and the husband of her foster sister, but Jane isn't spilling any tea. Worse, she knows Frank Churchill and *refuses* to gossip about him, offering only vague generalities, which Emma finds unforgivable.

So much happened in Emma while I was in the woods! Most recently Frank Churchill still hasn't arrived to celebrate his father's marriage. Mr. Knightley tears him to shreds while Emma's all, "Lay off, he's sure to be charming!" To be fair, Emma knows a thing or twelve about "tempers to manage" and cuts Frank some slack. After managing her entire family's emotional load just a few chapters ago during the dinner from Hell, her outlook totally tracks.

I'm keeping up with my two chapters a day, even if I'm not keeping up with posting! Taking time out this week for some camping and hiking and time offline, and it's been wonderful. I'm still truly attempting to find good in Emma with every chapter and it's not easy, can't lie. Especially when she's manipulating Harriet into refusing Robert Martin and completely misinterpreting (willfully or not? Let's debate!) the situation with Elton. UGH!

Day 2 and Emma is already testing my commitment to finding the good in her! We did see her tending lovingly to her father once again in these chapters. And she's lonely and isolated and needs a friend, so how nice that she invites Harriet Smith to come hang! Too bad she immediately launches a campaign to shame Harriet about her crush on Mr. Martin, who might not be rich but knows what a woman *really* wants! (A song performed by a shepherd's son.)

Last call to register for the #BetsyTacyConvention2025! We're so excited to have keynote speaker Mara Wilson, lifelong BT fan, join us in Deep Valley! We'll also be welcoming incredible authors Mitali Perkins and Danny Lavery as fellow keynotes. Registration closes soon; link in comments! #BetsyTacy #MaudHartLovelace #DeepValley #BetsyTacyAndTib

I'm really going to try to give Emma the benefit of the doubt this time! Today I'm calling out two things: first, Emma's evident care for her aging, anxious father; the girl has spent all of her teens graciously managing his emotional and mental health. Second, Mrs. Weston, a whole adult, apparently started treating Emma like a bestie when she was 13?! 😬 Not to be all 2025 about this, but I think we can confidently call Emma a parentified child.

Today the #PemberLittens start the Austen work that challenges me most- because while I admire the skilled construction of this world and the way all the action unfolds, I just don't like the central couple. Will this be the re-read that makes me see the light on spoiled, shallow Emma and scolding Knightley? I'm kicking off with a tattered paperback to see me through a rustic camping trip, then switching to a gorgeous Folio edition. Let's begin!

It's been getting more and more chilly here in Michigan, so I'm very happy to take advantage of a sunshine-y day with some reading in the garden! Tirzah Price's latest Austen mystery was slow to start for me, but then suddenly I found I'd read more than 200 pages all at once. 😂 Planning to finish out the day with the final third of a different take on Fanny Price and, let's face it, probably a cocktail at some point. Happy Saturday, friends!

The Mansfield Park influence here was evident at the start, but as the book went on, it fully went its own exciting direction. Two cousins become fast friends when Funke is sent to England from Nigeria to live with her aunt. She navigates a whole new world and encounters blatant racism while both cousins deal with completely dysfunctional family dynamics. The inspiration from Austen shines but the compelling story stands on its own.

I've reviewed each book in this trilogy but as the final month of the #KLBR winds up, I wanted to review the collection as a whole. I mean this with no hyperbole- this was an earth-shaking read. I'm in awe of the balance of the epic scale and the nuanced specificity of the writing, and how it evoked a bygone time and place yet felt so contemporary and fully human in every struggle and relationship. Conquering this chunkster was worth every minute!

#TomKitten might not be sure about this book, but I definitely am: it's a solid pick from me! A bisexual lady vigilante who kills abusive dudes by poisoning pies?! Bakery business-owner by day, misandrist and revenge-seeker by night?! There is literally nothing to not like, including the fact that the story rushes by so quick and breezy while still making you fall for Daisy and her found family and her delicious-sounding pies. A total winner!

Some books stay on my TBR for way too long; I'm so glad I finally read this one! Essie is a 17 year-old raised in the public eye on a reality TV show featuring her deeply religious family. When she gets pregnant, her parents have to devise a way to handle a situation that could ruin everything they've built. I love Essie's intelligence, her strength, and her courage, and the ways in which she delivered herself the life she wanted and deserved.

Perfect day on Lake Michigan with the best of friends and the tagged book, which is a total delight, btw! I already know I'll be reading the whole series. #PureMichigan #CurrentlyReading

I finished Part 3 with unabashed tears streaming down my face and my husband sitting next to me giving me The Look I get when I'm being a little ridiculous. I managed to choke out, "It's futile but beautiful!" and really, I can't give a better encapsulation than that. It ended as it must, as I knew it would, and the novel's great world went on spinning - characters moving forward and a new snow falling. But I'll stay thinking about it for years.

Shots fired!!!! And is Arngjerd wrong? Is Simon more honorable than Erlend? I've just finished Book 3, Part 1 and can't get over how into this I am. #KLBR #DoorstopKristin

#TomKitten and I are completely sucked into Book 3 of Kristin. Life back at Jørundgård is bittersweet, as Kristin grapples with memories of the past and the sometimes stark reality of the present. I hope I can stay fully spoiler-free as I continue to read because this is nothing less than gripping and I can't wait for all of the twists as turns as I come closer to the (sadly) inevitable end. I'm so glad I finally took the plunge on this series!

My introduction to WWII's Operation Mincemeat came via a great #PersephonePick called Operation Heartbreak. Then a few months later, I learned the true story was turned into a musical and I was *obsessed*. Now, some of the musical's superfans have published a book about their own research into the story of Mincemeat's unsung hero, Hester Leggatt. "Finding Hester" is a testament to the power of art and the importance of setting the record straight.

I still love Undset's storytelling and the vivid, historic world she's conjured, but man, life gets real for Kristin FAST in this installment. Political intrigue and deep religious exploration abound, as well as the daily strife of having and raising children (the toll of her many pregnancies is heartbreaking and sobering), parental aging and loss, and the realities of a troubled marriage with an unworthy man. I.E. Erlend is THE WORST, the end.