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❤ Reading Justine ❤
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One of the books Justine liked very much was one i disliked very much.How I would have liked to discuss it with her in person. Both of us would have parted, I imagine, not shaken, but stirred.
Lljones wrote: "Several of you have noted your plan to read some of Justine's favorite books. Here's a place for us to post our thoughts about those books.AlbyBeliever pulled this list from Justine's 5-star revi..."
great to see Janet McNeil there, i recommended her to Justine and she chose another McNeil novel and loved it, thanking me for recommending it to her
Lljones wrote: "Several of you have noted your plan to read some of Justine's favorite books. Here's a place for us to post our thoughts about those books.AlbyBeliever pulled this list from Justine's 5-star revi..."
I've had Fludd in the teetering TBR pile for some time, so I might go with that. She had impressively eclectic tastes, didn't she?
This is a great idea by AlbyBeliever. I'm afraid my reading scope is certainly not as broad as Justine's was, the only book I have read on the list was Solar Bones by Mike McCormack. I've never read anything by Kazuo Ishiguro (although Never Let Me Go is on my TBR pile). I've ordered An Artist of the Floating World from my library.
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Yes, it is. I'll add it to the top.
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Ha! According to LibraryThing, it's here in my brother's house. If I can find it, I'll join you.
Sorry for banging the drum for the, imo undervalued, The Council of Egypt by Leonardo Sciascia again.My excuse: Justine gave it 5 stars on GR.
Fantastic idea this list. As soon as I finish the book I'm on, I'm going to read Delta Wedding. In some unknown, tingly way, I'm certain she'll transmit her enthusiasm across the dimensional divide. Justine is still alive in one of those dimensions and still sharing her excitement with us there.
Paul wrote # 14: "Fantastic idea this list."Yes.
Paul continued # 14:"As soon as I finish the book I'm on, I'm going to read Delta Wedding. In some unknown, tingly way, I'm certain she'll transmit her enthusiasm across the dimensional divide. Justine is still alive in one of those dimensions and still sharing her excitement with us there."
And a fantastic post of yours, Paul.
I am still undecided. We only have five of her favourite books here, but I am still spoilt for choice...
Will have to reread Dostoevsky's The Gambler for my reading group first (meeting per videocall).
Very much looking forward to getting immersed in inter's/ Justine's choices, though!
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Found it, read first two chapters with my breakfast - I'm hooked!
I've just ordered 'Let the Great World Spin'.What a lovely idea - a reading fest for Justine!
I am going for Their Eyes Were Watching God I think.
I’m 75 pages into The Elephant’s Journey and really enjoying it so far. I love Saramago’s playful, ironic, wise voice; it’s always such a pleasure.Enjoy Their Eyes Were Watching God, Greenfairy. It took me a few pages to get into the rhythms of the dialect (I found reading it aloud helped), but once I did I enjoyed it immensely. It’s a superb book.
(And thanks again for setting this up, Lisa. Really appreciated by all of us.)
This is such a wonderful idea Lisa and Alby. It's also a wonderful list, a testament to Justine's mind. I've read several off the list and for several more authors books other than the ones listed. If I had a completely free choice now I would read either Welty or Sherriff I think, though I don't know how I'll make that happen as I don't use Amazon.
I haven't, so far, been a member of Ersatz TLS, but I read it regularly and I wanted to come here and say how desperately shocked and saddened I am by the loss of Justine. I loved her presence. Rigorous, considered, gentle, wise and kind. Not just a reader extraordinaire, but one of the very best of people. I will miss her terribly.
It's a lovely idea to read some of Justine's favourite books. I think I'm going to go with Invitation to the Waltz.
(I posted as MsCarey at Guardian TLS.)
It's a lovely idea to read some of Justine's favourite books. I think I'm going to go with Invitation to the Waltz.
(I posted as MsCarey at Guardian TLS.)
AlbyBeliever wrote: "I’m 75 pages into The Elephant’s Journey and really enjoying it so far. I love Saramago’s playful, ironic, wise voice; it’s always such a pleasure.Enjoy Their Eyes Were Watching God, Greenfairy. ..."
Thank you, I started to read it in bed and stayed awake for far too long but I am not going anywhere so I might have a duvet day and continue reading🙂 It certainly is a magnificent book and a great choice for international women's day . Thank you Justine, we all love you.
Anne wrote: "It's a lovely idea to read some of Justine's favourite books. I think I'm going to go with Invitation to the Waltz.(I posted as MsCarey at Guardian TLS.)"
It's wonderful to see you back here, MsCarey, albeit in sad circumstances. It'd be lovely to hear your views as you read Invitation to the Waltz, if you have time.
More Justine 5* recommendations; I hope they're of interest. I'll leave it to Lisa to decide whether to add them to the top post, or if they'll make it too long!• R K Narayan - The World of Nagaraj
• Mario Vargas Llosa - The Storyteller
• Ismail Kadare - The Traitor's Niche or The Pyramid
• Junichiro Tanizaki - A Cat, a Man, and Two Women
• Alfred Hayes - In Love
• Robert Seethaler - A Whole Life
• Dorothy Whipple - The Priory
• Honore de Balzac – Lost Illusions
• Molly Keane – Taking Chances
• Sinclair Lewis – Elmer Gantry
• Roland Schimmelpfennig – One Clear Ice Cold January Morning at the Beginning of the 21st Century
• Ruth Prawer Jhabvala - Heat and Dust
• Kazuo Ishiguro – A Pale View of the Hills
• Nina Stibbe - Reasons to the Cheerful
• Natsume Soseki - Kokoro
• Walter Kempowski – Homeland
• Akiyuki Nosaka - The Cake Tree in the Ruins
• Jocelyn Brooke – The Military Orchid
• Roland Camberton – Rain on the Pavements
• Ahmed Saadawi - Frankenstein in Baghdad
• Isaac Bashevis Singer – Collected Stories
• Paul Scott – Staying On
• Flannery O'Connor – Complete Stories
• Saki – Complete Short Stories
• Katherine Mansfield – Selected Stories
• Elizabeth Bowen – Collected Stories
• Lucia Berlin – A Manual for Cleaning Women
• Jorge Luis Borges – Labyrinths or Fictions
• Guy de Maupassant – A Parisian Affair and Other Stories
• Henry James – Collected Stories
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I've started this and I'm conquered. It's the first book I've read by Colum McCann and so far it's wonderful.
It's wonderful to see you ..."
It's very nice to see you gain too, Alby. Thanks for the welcome. It feels a bit odd. I didn't contribute to Ersatz, but I lurked from the beginning so in some ways it feels quite familiar. On the other hand, I didn't put in any of the work you and others have done here and I'm very admiring of what you've achieved.
I'm looking forward to discussing Justine's books.
It's very nice to see you gain too, Alby. Thanks for the welcome. It feels a bit odd. I didn't contribute to Ersatz, but I lurked from the beginning so in some ways it feels quite familiar. On the other hand, I didn't put in any of the work you and others have done here and I'm very admiring of what you've achieved.
I'm looking forward to discussing Justine's books.
Very nice to see all the other familiar faces too, on this thread and all the others.
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Thanks, Alby, adding to the top post now...
A cat a man and two women sounds right along my allyOur very own very particular reading group
Anne wrote: "I haven't, so far, been a member of Ersatz TLS, but I read it regularly and I wanted to come here and say how desperately shocked and saddened I am by the loss of Justine. I loved her presence. Rig..."Welcome Anne. x
Anne wrote: "I haven't, so far, been a member of Ersatz TLS, but I read it regularly and I wanted to come here and say how desperately shocked and saddened I am by the loss of Justine. I loved her presence. Rig..."Lovely to see you Anne/MsCarey, though under the saddest of circumstances.
Fuzzywuzz wrote: "This is a great idea by AlbyBeliever. I'm afraid my reading scope is certainly not as broad as Justine's was, the only book I have read on the list was Solar Bones by Mike McCormack. I've never r..."
I think it's great that Justine posthumously makes us leave our comfort zones and try something she enjoyed.
Machenbach wrote: "AlbyBeliever wrote: "More Justine 5* recommendations; I hope they're of interest. I'll leave it to Lisa to decide whether to add them to the top post, or if they'll make it too long!.."
Boy, she s..."
Nope, Machenbach, she didn't :
Roland Schimmelpfennig ist ein deutscher Schriftsteller und Dramaturg. Schimmelpfennig ist der zurzeit meistgespielte Gegenwartsdramatiker Deutschlands. Seine Stücke werden in über 40 Ländern aufgeführt.
Translated: R S is a German author of novels and dramas, The most played German drama author right now. His plays are shown in more than 40 countries.
No, I hadn't heard about him, either.
Some months ago, last spring, some helped me choose some books for someone beginning chemo again. One of those books that I sent wa A fortnight in September because Justine said it would be one to have near her if she was to be in that position.The recipient of the books remains close. I told her about Justine’s list and she is choosing one to read as well because she enjoyed the book so much.
One book, not on the list, a poetry book by Alice Oswald called Memorial is probably the one I shall read.
Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont and A Single Man (the book!) are en route; thanks Alby and thanks Justine. I read and enjoyed A View of the Harbour on Justine's recommendation so looking forward to another Taylor.
Machenbach wrote: "I was tempted by Invitation to the Waltz ..."
Ha! I thought Invitation to the Waltz was partly a good choice because I was sure I had read, and owned, The Weather in the Streets. I've just been to my bookshelves, however, and The Weather in the Streets has unaccountably turned into The Echoing Grove ...
Ha! I thought Invitation to the Waltz was partly a good choice because I was sure I had read, and owned, The Weather in the Streets. I've just been to my bookshelves, however, and The Weather in the Streets has unaccountably turned into The Echoing Grove ...
giveusaclue wrote: "Welcome ..."
Thank you, 'clue and Veufveuve. It's very good to be reconnecting with people here.
Thank you, 'clue and Veufveuve. It's very good to be reconnecting with people here.
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Ha! I thought Invitation to the Waltz was partly a good choice because I was sure I had read, and owned, The Weather in the Streets..."
Ha! When I imagine my own books, in boxes in storage, I'm sure that Invitation to the Waltz is amongst them. I've just looked at her list and covers, and I'm now not sure whether that one might be The Ballad and the Source!
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"Found it, read first two chapters with my breakfast - I'm hooked!"
AlbyBeliever: "I’m 75 pages into The Elephant’s Journey and really enjoying it so far...."
I've just borrowed Le voyage de l'éléphant from the library - for after Let the Great World Spin
30 pages into Delta Wedding and Welty has got me hooked. She has a beautiful, calm prose, while writing about a whirling mass of children.
Invitation to the Waltz has started beautifully. (25 pages in.)
Lljones wrote: "Ha! When I imagine my own books, in boxes in storage, I'm sure that Invitation to the Waltz is amongst them. I've just looked at her list and covers, and I'm now not sure whether that one might be The Ballad and the Source!"
I'm assuming your editions of Lehmann's books are earlier than the Virago edition of Invitation to the Waltz that I'm reading. It has a godawful cover of: the lower rim of a skirt, open toed dancing heels and nail varnished toes. A sort of sub-western girl gone to Buenos Aires to learn the tango-schtick. Lehmann it ain't.
I'm assuming your editions of Lehmann's books are earlier than the Virago edition of Invitation to the Waltz that I'm reading. It has a godawful cover of: the lower rim of a skirt, open toed dancing heels and nail varnished toes. A sort of sub-western girl gone to Buenos Aires to learn the tango-schtick. Lehmann it ain't.
Anne wrote: "It has a godawful cover of: the lower rim of a skirt, open toed dancing heels and nail varnished toes."
Glad to hear from you, Anne.
At some point Virago apparently changed their cover strategy from using pre-existing paintings to photographs for their cover images. I pick up most of my books used, so I generally acquire the older editions, which suits me. I find the use of photographs for fiction cover images generally unsatisfactory, especially when they include people (or parts of people), preferring paintings, illustrations, graphics, or just typography. I guess there are some exceptions to this – Richard Brautigan’s cover photographs in his earlier books seemed just right, like a kind of visual epigraph for the novel inside.
I remember being confused when Justine's review of A Single Man included a cover image using a photograph of a surfer. As was my impression, confirmed by Justine, there is no surfing in the novel.
Having been absent from Ersatz TLS for a couple of weeks, I've returned to the upsetting news about Justine. Thanks to Lljones for putting together this list of Justine's favourites and for keeping the weekly "what we're reading" going.I was thinking of A Single Man, but will leave that for better times. A Cat, a Man, and Two Women is my choice.
I finished The Elephant's Journey last night and really enjoyed it; just the kind of playful, touching, intelligent novel that Saramago excels at.The next books on my stack - Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz and Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler - don't feature on the list above, so I was contemplating whether to read them or something from the list.
A quick search of Justine's comments, however, reveals that she read and loved both. Was there anything she hadn't read? I'm in awe!
I'll leave it up to you, Lisa, whether you add those two to the list; it could become a never-ending task! Either way, I'll report back after I've read them.
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I expect to finish tonight or tomorrow. Love the playfulness, just what I need right now.
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I enjoyed [book:The Elephant's Journey|..."
Ongley told me " Saramago was very much aware he was coming to the end of his days when he wrote this. And yet, there's a light touch in The Elephant's Journey. "
I don't mean to trivialize Saramago's artistry, but I can't help imagining this book as a Wes Anderson film.
Bill wrote: "I find the use of photographs for fiction cover images generally unsatisfactory, especially when they include people (or parts of people), preferring paintings, illustrations, graphics, or just typography."
Good to see you too, Bill. Thanks for putting the covers up. At some point I'm going to have to learn how to do this stuff. I agree with you entirely about photos on covers. I was truly upset a couple of years ago when I bought the only Penelope Fitzgerald novel I didn't have (Innocence) and found they'd completely redesigned her covers and I'm stuck now with a cover that has a photo I dislike.
I do get that Virago might want to update the design of Invitation to the Waltz for a new generation and I'm not opposed to change in general. Just, if they're going to do it, then do it right.
Good to see you too, Bill. Thanks for putting the covers up. At some point I'm going to have to learn how to do this stuff. I agree with you entirely about photos on covers. I was truly upset a couple of years ago when I bought the only Penelope Fitzgerald novel I didn't have (Innocence) and found they'd completely redesigned her covers and I'm stuck now with a cover that has a photo I dislike.
I do get that Virago might want to update the design of Invitation to the Waltz for a new generation and I'm not opposed to change in general. Just, if they're going to do it, then do it right.
Iv'e just finished my book-for-Justine, Colum McCann - Let the Great World Spin.
Thanks, Justine for all your help and suggestions.
My review here -
https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit...
The postman delivered Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont and A Single Man this morning. I am delighted to see they are appealingly slim volumes; it's a bank holiday here tomorrow - St. Patrick's Day, top of the morning to ye and all that malarkey - so I look forward to devoting my day to one of them in between dancing hornpipes around the kitchen and singing Hail Glorious St. Patrick (a hymn that, in spite of myself, I am fond of). I will think of Justine more than St. Patrick, I'm sure. Thanks again to Alby for putting this Reading Justine list together.
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AlbyBeliever pulled this list from Justine's 5-star reviews and I've added a few others. If anyone chooses a different title let me know and I'll add it to the list.
• Jose Saramago – The Elephant's Journey
• R C Sherriff – The Fortnight in September
• Anything by John Steinbeck
• Christopher Isherwood – A Single Man
• Joseph Conrad – The Secret Agent
• Roy Jacobsen – The Burnt-Out Town of Miracles
• Philippe Sands – East West Street: On the Origins of "Genocide" and "Crimes Against Humanity"
• Shūsaku Endō – Silence
• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – Americanah
• Hilary Mantel – Fludd
• Julia Strachey - Cheerful Weather for the Wedding; and An Integrated Man
• Mavis Gallant – The Collected Stories
• Kazuo Ishiguro – An Artist of the Floating World
• Mike McCormack - Solar Bones
• Henry Handel Richardson – The Getting of Wisdom
• Janet McNeill -As strangers Here or Tea At Four O'Clock
• Winifred Holtby - South Riding
• Lion Feuchtwanger - The Oppermanns
• Gabriel Josipovici - The Cemetery in Barnes
• Lawrence Ferlinghetti – Little Boy
• Jón Kalman Stefánsson –Heaven and Hell
• Philip Larkin – Heaven and Hell
• Eric Vuillard - The Order of the Day
• Charles Dickens –Bleak House
• Evelyn Waugh – A Handful of Dust
• Eka Kurniawan – Man Tiger
• E.M. Delafield – The Diary of a Provincial Lady
• Rosamond Lehmann – Invitation to the Waltz and The Weather in the Streets
• Column McCann – Apeirogon and Let the Great World Spin
• Eudora Welty – Delta Wedding
• Zora Neale Hurston –Their Eyes Were Watching God
• Elizabeth Taylor – Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont
• Leonardo Sciascia – The Council of Egypt
• –
• R K Narayan - The World of Nagaraj
• Mario Vargas Llosa - The Storyteller
• Ismail Kadare - The Traitor's NicheThe Traitor's Niche or The Pyramid
• Jun'ichirō Tanizaki - A Cat, a Man, and Two Women
• Alfred Hayes - In Love
• Robert Seethaler - A Whole Life
• Dorothy Whipple - The Priory
• Honoré de Balzac – Lost Illusions
• Molly Keane – Taking Chances
• Sinclair Lewis – Elmer Gantry
• Roland Schimmelpfennig – One Clear Ice-cold January Morning at the Beginning of the 21st Century
• Ruth Prawer Jhabvala - Heat and Dust
• Kazuo Ishiguro – A Pale View of Hills
• Nina Stibbe - Reasons to Be Cheerful
• Natsume Sōseki - Kokoro
• Walter Kempowski – Homeland
• Akiyuki Nosaka - The Cake Tree in the Ruins
• Jocelyn Brooke – The Military Orchid
• Roland Camberton – Rain on the Pavements
• Ahmed Saadawi - Frankenstein in Baghdad
• Isaac Bashevis Singer – Collected Stories
• Paul Scott – Staying On
• Flannery O'Connor – The Complete Stories
• Saki – The Complete Short Stories
• Katherine Mansfield – Selected Stories
• Elizabeth Bowen – The Collected Stories
• Lucia Berlin – A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories
• Jorge Luis Borges – Labyrinths: Selected Stories and Other Writings or Collected Fictions
• Guy de Maupassant – A Parisian Affair and Other Stories
• Henry James – Collected Stories: Volume 1 (1866-1891)