Linda > Recent Status Updates

Well now! Things are getting interesting! I know I have read this before but I simply remember nothing. ha!

A very English country house story - currently we are talking about getting up a little play, and arguing about which damsel would best play the lead, when you know of course poor relation Frances will not.

I picked this up off the library recs shelf and it is giving trying too hard vibes. There is a Sherlock/Watson construct, but our Watson never seems to say a word in any of the scenes. The Sherlock, a guy called Vance, gives huge Wimsey vibes, complete with monocle. The DA is his cop connection, and these two characters could not be more dissimilar. Curiosity has me continuing.

I finished Nina last night on the train, and I am going to go ahead and read LT now. I am behind on the readalong and these books are a little bit outside the normal Trollope range, but I want to read them. It is interesting to me when an author tries to step outside their little bubble after they become successful.

Oh but for a good editor this would be a very fun read! I love the premise and the characters. I love the plot, the narrative. The banter is a little bit off sometimes, but the thing tripping me up is nonsense sentences. I keep having to read sentences over, and rewrite them in my head to make sense. Misplaced modifiers, unclear narration, etc. An important piece of world bldg alluded to pages before it was given.

I have only to read The Dead, which I missed during the Jan readalong, and I will be done with this collection. I am still trying to figure out what is going on in half of them. They seem to show the most destitute, seedy side of things in many cases. Others are just sad. I definitely feel like this is of a different time, but I know many Irish who love Joyce.

I've finished Alice, but I am going to wait a week to continue on with Through the Looking Glass. I always get them mixed up, and I want to be fresh for the discussion. I loved the annotations on this!

This is such a lovely edition to read. I am finding that makes such a difference for me lately. No more mass market paperbacks, tyvm. I am enjoying this more than I think I ever have before. So funny! It doesn't hurt that our Deep Dive chat is bringing things to light that I wouldn't otherwise know. Fabulous.

Sheer delight. So far, even better than the first one. I love Viv! I mean, is it a little dodgy that she suddenly makes 4 bosom buddies in a small town? Never mind that they are all kind of misfits. The found family is lovely, the mystery is awesome, and the bakery and books are the cherry on top!

Reading this with a group on IG. Confession: I am stymied by half of these, and kind of bored with another quarter of them, and alarmed by the remainder. Not sure I get Joyce. But I will finish it, because I want to read the Dead, and the discussion is so good.

Such a rollicking adventure, with Anthony Cade and Mrs. Revel! I just love these characters. Not much Insp Battle, which is just fine, as he is not my favorite series. But I think this is one of my favorites of her spy thrillers.

Okay, things are moving along, but I cannot fail to find myself puzzled by the author's seeming inability to make sense of an intuitive practice, particularly when she has a) grown up surrounded by woo woo practices b) had belonged to an actual coven (!) in her early 20s c) was gifted with an - excuse me? - advisory board of witches to help her on her way. Mentors abound! Hey, I did this all by myself. Buck up.

Really enjoying this, though it is by no means action-packed. It is a soft, bittersweet story so far, and I love Bob. Bob makes sense to me. I think he will make sense to any book lover. The flashbacks seem fraught with peril, but the current day senior center is no less dangerous. It's that kind of danger. If you liked A Man Called Ove...

Whoa. This is beautiful! The last line of every chapter is so lovely, it just sucks me right into One More Chapter syndrome! "Days flattened fact, was the merciful truth of the matter. A bell was struck and it sang by the blow performed against it but the noise of the violence moved away and away and the bell soon was cold and mute, intact." Whoa.

I thought this would be really fascinating but it seems to be just the struggles of a perfectionist to fit into a non-conformist lifestyle. Hmmmm

Oh my, the most difficult portion to read, but also the part that raises so many questions! Poor Charlotte. She was at least happy at the end.
I have been enjoying this so much, in little sips every night, about 20-30 pages a night. Today I read 50 already. I could not stop once we came to that fateful episode. This book will break your heart a million times, but also send you soaring.

I am really enjoying this reread of AGG, though I cannot think how many years it has been. But I needed a little break from school day hijinks. Still, I am looking forward to this readalong where we will read them all, and celebrate LMM's 150th anniversary this year. Even if she did sneak a bit from Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. :( Also, this edition is just about the loveliest to read of any fancy book I have.

Ahhhh that's the ticket. Some good old-fashioned Agatha. Nice to snuggle down with - now all I need is the fireside, and some winter.

This is most like reading a sprawling, melodramatic novel, one whose characters are only sketchily drawn, but in whose antics nevertheless you are deeply invested. I have had no trouble picking this up, always looking forward to what is going to happen next, even though I have just read two nonfiction works about them, but it does seem to put me to sleep, even during the day, so I read it at night only.

Lovely little Miss Mackenzie. I do hope she grows a bit of a backbone. But I somehow don't think that is going to happen. Interesting what Anthony is doing here.

This is a chatty, breezy yet earnest look at witchcraft from someone who wants to 'do it right.' When, as we all know, it is as personal as your own name, and as ethereal as the moon. I like her humorous asides, and I appreciate the reading list. But so much angst!

Whew, okay. I am enjoying this, but I would like less of Patrick's church antics and more of the daughters, or even Branwell. We are just getting into Branwell's artistic phase. I wonder if I would like this more if it were all new to me. As it is, it is very interesting, because there are loads of details, a lot of correcting Gaskell, and seems very even across all family members. I wish we knew more of Emily.

We have just gotten to Haworth, and I hope that our focus shifts from Patrick to the children. I learned more than I thought possible about Patrick. It was interesting, and only fair that he get some page time. But the religion talk is not my favorite. I wish we could find out more about Maria. We haven't said good bye to her yet. I am so often just gobsmacked at how many people died young in this family.

Reading this for a group read on IG of Jane Austen deep dive. I think I've read it before? But I remember nothing. So far, so good.

Oh this is excellent. Book magic that is elemental, a backstory that goes back generations, a sort of family curse, all the yes to the yes. This reminds me of a story idea I once had, and I can see how it could come together now. Not like this, but adjacent? Ah, the wonder of inspiration. However, I just know that this is going to tear my heart out. Still, I'm trying to enjoy it.

Uff da, starting my year with another beast is no way to build my January cushion! But this is a great time to read this tome. I dipped into it last fall and it is eminently readable.

I read one of her books last year, and enjoyed it, so when I saw this at the library, I just grabbed it. I didn't realize the first story was the book I had read last year! It did not bear up to repeated reading. But I will soldier on to the second story, and hope that our faithful heroine has now figured out how to send a text message. (I mean, come on, how old is she anyway?)

This is really a cool edition. I picked it up at my Friend's Library store for $2! The annotations are very detailed, and I love all the different illustrations.

I stalled on this for a little bit, as it is quite dense. But full of interesting anecdotes, and fast-paced, for its subject. I can't seem to decide how it is organized, though, so that is kind of bugging me. You would think alpha? But no, that doesn't seem to be the case.

Ooh this is just the thing. A little bit Fantastic Beasts #1, a little bit Practical Magic.