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Tigger just entered the story and I had forgotten how absolutely precious he is trying to find something a Tigger likes to eat.

The second story is Turgenev "The Singers". I had not ever read this one, so no preconceived idea of what was there. I took notes as I went and compared to what Saunders highlighted. Boy do I miss things when I am reading! I think I got about half the salient points in this one. I especially loved his discussion of binary.

"But he was one of those men who, as in youth they are ever very young, so in age are they never very old."

Barely made a start and already met three very interesting characters. I'm not sure if I am going to like Lopez.

"In very truth he loved the girl and reverenced her, believing her to be better and higher and nobler than other human beings,--as a man does when he is in love, and so believing, he had those doubts as to his own success which such reverence produces."

"In the Cart" - Chekhov
I have read this story before, so I found it very interesting to see how much more Saunders was able to reveal to me than what I was able to notice alone. The story was dissected page-by-page, with questions put to the reader regarding what feelings it evoked and what expectations it aroused. I might find myself reading short stories more slowly hereafter.

Need something lighthearted and nothing is really more lighthearted than Winnie.

I have always been fascinated by the art of NC Wyeth and the way he set out to make a great painter of his son and succeeded. I think all the Wyeth's had amazing talent, and Andrew was the most famous, but for me the genius was still NC.

What a tragic situation for an older man to find himself in. I suppose my own age makes me feel his predicament more than I might have when younger. I think it is a kind of universal fear in aging people that they will end up at the mercy of someone who does not care for them or a burden on someone they love. Sadly, both of these are realities for Nariman.

As is usual with Collins, the story is gripping from the first word. There are many questions, and clues that invite speculation, which is part of what makes a Collins novel fun.

I am marking dozens of quotations. Byatt is a very intellectual writer, so I am always learning new things as I explore her stories, which I think makes the reading go slower.

Pausing the book due to real life complications. Hoping to resume soon.

Feel quite invested in the characters at this point and a little uneasy about what might be in the pasts and futures of several of them.

"His mother was a good and fearful Lutheran, who gave away both time and money, visiting hospitals for the poor, organizing bazaars and clothing collections. But she ate from Meissen porcelain with silver spoons. There were hideous inconsistencies."

I think this is a struggle many people deal with, perhaps on a smaller level, but how much should we have if others do not have anything.

Love the way it opens: "Without hope there would be no magic."

I love the way he describes memory and how it plays tricks on us and the way smell is so firmly attached to memory.

"He said it meant that when you did a good thing it should seem to come from God, not from you. It should not feel to other people like your goodness, and it should not feel that way to you, either. Any good thing is less good the more any human being lays claim to it."

On the one hand, Lila is sad and unwanted; on the other hand, Doll loves her unconditionally, so she does have a glimpse of the possibility of love.

End of Part One. Have a good feel for the main characters and find the story rather captivating, despite the fact that nothing has really happened of any true significance so far.

So easy to just get lost in this book. It has probably been 40+ years since the last time I read it. I've watched the movie several times since then. I cannot separate the two in my head...when Atticus speaks he always has Gregory Peck's voice for me.

I had forgotten how much I love the perfect prose of Harper Lee.
"Men's stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon, after their three o'clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum."
Maybe those who have never lived without air conditioning will not experience this line as I did...but I remember those sweltering summer days of my childhood.