Ersatz TLS discussion
Justine Memorial
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We had PhD students in travel literature, well-known authors, playwrights, poets, caregivers, retirees, doctors, students, partners, politicians, military historians, booksellers, librarians, teachers and people of all forms and fixtures from every area of life and every continent not currently fracturing into massive icy chunks.
We often referred to each other as Forest Dwellers, as one constant presence termed us, from the Book Savers in Fahrenheit 451. One of the most dependable Book Herders was Justine, who posted under the Interwar moniker. Always smiling, always engaged Justine was the gentle soul of the TLS Forest. Kindness incarnate, Justine rarely showed anything but patience and understanding. Quick to celebrate your bookish enthusiasm, or champion an author no one had yet heard, or to fete an old favorite, Justine was one of the best amongst us. As she wound her way down into retirement after a lifetime teaching, Interwar was the calm center of the TLS Forest. A New Yorker by birth, but a longtime London expat by choice, Justine was able to see discussions from both sides, whether it was pitting The Great American Novel versus The British Fundament, or the foreigner viewpoint versus the native one. Initially interested in works published between WWI and WWII, hence the Interwar user name, Justine’s reading bloomed and branched and meandered and leapt in different directions. Justine was the chlorophyll of our Forest, she fixed the sunlight and translated it into a gently laughing voice that you could hear in your head as you read her posts. I have no doubt that if we were to hear her voice, it would sound just like the voice we heard in our heads. Much like her photo reflects the face we saw before us as we discussed the latest Colum McCann novel, or discussed the wonder of Grace Paley or unappreciated genius of Rosamund Lehman. When The Guardian chose to put a period upon the TLS discussion sentence, it was only natural that Lisa and Justine would be the leaders of its replacement. They were/are our Den Mothers, our shepherds.
All the students who she helped and formed, all the readers whose enthusiasm she kindled, all of us owe a happy debt to Justine. She remains here with us as an energy and beautiful serenity. As we turn the pages and discover a new love on the printed page, Justine is there sitting alongside us, clapping her hands and saying “Wonderful! I envy you. I wish I could read that for the first time again.”
We miss you deeply Justine, but hope to find you again between the pages of that next book.
Lljones wrote: "The Ersatz TLS group is the ever-vital remnant of the Tips, Links and Suggestions discussion group in The Guardian’s Book pages. Posters wrote reviews of the books that they had read,; people poppe..."wonderfully put LL!
A good summary of the group and its activity.
I am sorry I came to TLS as late as I did, so did not get to know Justine until only a few months before she passed away. This tribute is beautiful and I will miss her presence on this blog.
That is a lovely tribute to the person I still think of as Interwar, Justine. She was a kind and wonderful woman and so are you.
That was meant for LLJones - Lisa! Sorry, I really struggle with the format of GoodReads
Thank you for posting that, LLJ... the Guardian had more contributors than the Erzatz version, and I joined that too late to develop a clear idea of who 'Interwar' was - indeed, the pseudonym made me think it was a fella! I started to get a better notion once she (and your good self) took on the task of organising Ersatz TLS.That's a lovely tribute.
Yes, I should have said this before, but well done. I read it when I first came here to the Ersatz, but it's good to read it again now and then to be reminded.
Fiktion wrote: "I was a regular reader of the Guardian's TLS. There were four or five outstanding contributors I always looked out for, and 'Interwar', who I now discover was called 'Justine', was one of them. Her..."And that was a lovely tribute from you.
The best tribute I can pay to Justine from my short time interacting with her either here or on the Guardian at TLS and POTW is that I always came away marvelling at her equanimity and thinking I'd like to be more like her. She had a very clear and true "voice", was erudite and funny, managed to say her piece without much hint of pique or irritation coming through (that's perhaps the way I'd like most to be more like her!) and generally seemed a decent, generous and all-round lovely person. We had a message exchange when Ersatz was in its infancy and she credited Lisa with the know-how to get things off the ground. She'd be proud, I'm sure of how LLJ carried that torch when it was difficult to do so. I'll never be as wise, knowledgeable or tolerant as "Interjust" but I'll never forget her and I may, in my less tolerant moments, ask myself "what would Justine do?". Greetings to all, wishing you a happy summer. I can't wait for some Atlantic respite. My summer starts on Friday evening with a glass of something good with which to toast friends, absent and present ... and even those who set my teeth on edge. What would Justine do? She'd surely have a second one. Sláinte. Rest in peace Inter. It truly was nice knowing you.
Lljones wrote: "The Ersatz TLS group is the ever-vital remnant of the Tips, Links and Suggestions discussion group in The Guardian’s Book pages. Posters wrote reviews of the books that they had read,; people poppe..."great tribute LL
You have landed on a Goodreads group called “Ersatz TLS”. We are a group of readers/book-maniacs who met over the past ten years or so at a book blog at The Guardian called “Tips, Links and Suggestions” (Here's a link to a typical week at TLS). When The Guardian discontinued that book blog in Fall 2020, this ersatz-TLS was established and Justine and I shared moderator duties until her death in early March 2021.
One of our favorite members has penned a loving tribute to both Justine and TLS, posted below. I’ve also invited other members to add their own personal stories about Justine, so you might like to bookmark this page and check back for more stories to come.
You don’t need to be a member of Goodreads to view all the topics in this Group. If you’d like to know more about Justine’s favorite books and reading life, take a look at Reading Justine. Or take a look at one or more of our weekly discussions.
You do need to be a member to post your own comments. If you have questions or comments or would just like to hang out and talk about books with us, we would love to have you join us. You’ll find information about joining Goodreads here.
Cheers, all. We hope you and your neighbors and friends enjoy this little library.
(Justine in Paris, 2003)