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First impression, I am reminded of Epitaph for a Spy by Eric Ambler.

Ok, only one chapter in, but I am so. delighted.

So. Excessively. Hooked. Fully expect this one to live up to the hype.

About halfway through this reread and struck by what a perfect time in my great books journey this was to pick it up. Last year I was reading Mesopotamian and other ancient literature, and I just finished the Iliad, and Paradise Lost follows SO perfectly after these.

Setting aside. I actually did thoroughly enjoy the first part centered on Rosa's voice, but after that it got torturous fast. This book is famous for having had the longest ever sentence in it -- think it probably has all the runners up, too. I have read and appreciated various synopses and analyses -- but feel like it may be more fun to read ABOUT this book than actually read the text itself.

I was scratching my head until I realized there are two characters named Bardolph in this play.....

"What do we know of the Bactrians, apart from their two-humped camels? ... We call an uncultured lout a Philistine, but were the Philistines philistines, and come to that, were the Vandals vandals?.... It is not the 'great' civilizations alone that made our modern world "

First impression: oooh! There's lots of pictures! 🤩

"Something in him shrank from violence, from contention, from the silent shrieking tensions that can rip at a house."

DNFing. Finding the author's style just rather unlikeable. Glib and sarcastic and maybe hasn't aged well. The murder just occurred but I don't really want to bother with the next 200 pages to learn how it was done.

Up until now, I have struggled to love the Blandings books as much as Jeeves and Wooster, but this one is winning me over. Listening to it on my commutes, I've been finding myself positively yelping with laughter. 😂 And the bar fight scene. I think I'm going to need to re-read this in print!

About her novelist husband: "Although he appears to be a reclining bronze, he's actually prowling the wharves of imagination, where any roustabout idea may turn to honest labor."

"Small wonder a gardener plans her garden as she wishes she could plan her life."

Not pulling any punches, I see, Diane Ackerman.

After trundling through Windy Poplars for so long, it is a relief to start this one! Interesting tidbit -- House of Dreams was published just 2yrs after Anne of the Island, while Windy Poplars was not inserted into the series until 2 decades later. So it seems there's a reason HoD feels like a return to the original tone and style!

This book opens with a gulag prisoner trying to get out of work on a snowy, cold winter's morning. I started reading it (audio format) this morning on my snowy, cold morning commute to my day-job, and I must say the circumstances made for a great pairing. 😅

This is really good, but it's kind of stressing me out!

This book is blowing my mind. 🤯

This book is delicious. If you want to pretend you're a writer living in a coastal cottage in moody, atmospheric Scotland whilst researching for a novel about the Jacobite activities of 1705ish, then here you go! Not unputdownable, but I find myself craving taking it back up again, and I feel like it's been awhile since I've read a book so enticing. :)

LOVING THIS. Written in such a perfect melancholy mood.

Has me hooked so far. Is Emotional Horror a genre? Because there are no ghosts, axe murderers, or typically spooky elements here, but this writer is evoking true Horror SO effectively in the realms of disease, death, and grief. A really affecting read even when I'm not actively reading it -- its vibe is sticking with me throughout the day.

Started reading on audio this morning and Wow, super mixed feelings so far. The first story was so fascinating and profound I was thinking 5 star read! Maybe I should get the e-book instead so I can think and process more while I'm reading this...The second story was so prurient and inane that I slingshot over to 1 star read, ugh, how even.

Emily St. John Mandel is just fabulous. To be honest, the premise of this book didn't sound that interesting to me (white collar crime/Ponzi scheme and fallout etc) but since I loved her writing style in Station Eleven so much I decided to give it a try. Downloaded the audio and I was completely captivated within the first few minutes. Mandel is truly a virtuoso storyteller.

🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

Just got a digital ARC through NetGalley, and I am SO EXCITED.

Back in 2005 when I read this for the first time I apparently rated it 2 stars. I wonder why?? Smh at my teenaged self

Started this last night and so far it is completely delightful. Perfect cozy read, and the main character is a P.G.Wodehouse afficionado which is super fun!