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#12booksof2024 Thanks @Andrew65 , I enjoyed going back over the reading year.
I have to say this might have been my favourite booker shortlist for a while, and in November, I enjoyed this story of a woman retreating from life to an Australian priory.
And for December, a book by a traditionally dark writer whose memoir had me laughing out loud, although Emmeline came close to being pickef

In last weeks irl grp we read this memoir by Shirley Jackson of bringing up her 3 very young children. I laughed from the opening chapter and continued to chuckle throughout as the author manages to rise above the madness. Wonderful writing this was a joyful treat from a writer who normally has me listening out for creaks on the stairs as I pull the duvet up around me.

My stack of books from NYC. Sarah and I had so much fun! ❤️
The top one with faded spine is a collection of short stories by Cora Sandal (not in the database). Especially pleased with the 1st edition Laurie Colwin. (And grateful to @sarahbarnes for climbing the ladder to retrieve it at Westsider Books.)
Proud to report I've already read tagged book courtesy of a prolonged travel day home. So well done me! 😁

Been in a book slump and this provided a delightful change of pace. Shirley Jackson writes anecdotes from her befuddled and slightly chaotic family life, with precocious children and tired parents. Its published in 1953 and while there‘s traditional gender roles etc this family is on their own trajectory and not entirely buying into anything thats expected of them. Laughed out loud at least four times 😂😂

This was a hidden gem! A captivating memoir about Shirley and husband, and their 4 children who live in a big old house in rural Vermont. The actions and dialogues are so amusing and realistic, it‘s hard to put down. The sequel is called “Raising Demons” 🤗

#Pantone2023 @Clwojick
#SeriesLove2023 @TheSpineView @Andrew65

And finished with a breakfast 😆 Just as delightful as the second one. I found the part about having a third child especially hilarious and shared it with my moms group chat—someone has just found out she is unexpectedly pregnant with her third!

Starting this with dinner!

My husband‘s band has a show tonight. I finally embraced who I really am and brought two books with me, set myself up in the corner, grabbed a bunch of wine, & am currently praying that no one talks to me. 🙈

Witty and insightful, Shirley Jackson is a master and understanding people‘s hidden thoughts, loves, and fears. For a woman who is known for her amazing imagination, her life is relatively quiet and very representative of many women of her generation. I laughed my way through this book.

2-22-22: My 17th finished book of 2022! Shirley Jackson, author of The Haunting of Hill House and The Lottery, takes a different turn here writing about her family, mainly her 3 small children. Very cute stories about her life taking care of them and watching them grow up in rural Vermont. ⭐️⭐️⭐️📖#️⃣1️⃣7️⃣

Another 4 ⭐️ read. I read this one between Dec 19 & 26. It was an enjoyable read about Jackson‘s life when her children were very young. It‘s written more as vignettes and some have inspired her short stories. I will definitely try to read more Jackson in 2021.

Finally finished this gem that was kindly given to me by @bookish_wookish for the #jolabokaflodswap . How adorable that back in December 2019 I called it “a gift perfectly timed, as I‘ll be home with my kids for the remaining two weeks of their winter break...” - if only I knew that would soon become six months...😂😭😂 Great book, so wry and well-written, and I loved the focus on the mundanities of motherhood.

Momma and pa and the 4 children in Vermont- the children are little savages- there is a vignette where the narrator (mom) recounts one night, 3 children, 2 adults, 4 beds 4 pillows 4 blankets 1 dog and 2 cats and, after many changes in rooms, blankets, juice, beds, all over one night all she wants to know is “what became of the baby‘s blanket- as you know we are short of blankets” She is a consumate woman who gets it done, with stoic humor. Fun!

Bailing @ 61% / 3:58:11—There have been a couple mildly amusing parts. Mostly, it's uninteresting and repetitive. Would I care if I was a fan of her writing (horror)? I don't think so.

And now for something completely different...

Thank you so much for the very generous and so delightful #jolabokaflodswap package, @bookish_wookish !! I‘m thrilled about the book you selected (a gift perfectly timed, as I‘ll be home with my kids for the remaining two weeks of their winter break 😜). The Poe Lover‘s Christmas card is brilliant. 😂❤️ And all of that lovely chocolate. 😍 Thanks again, Amy (and @MaleficentBookDragon for hosting) - wishing you a wonderful Christmas!

This was my follow-up read to Hill House. I loved reading about SJ raising kids in rural Vermont in the 40s and 50s. I was surprised by how relatable I found it, raising my own kids 60 years later and in a new century-and of course, some things are very different-10 days in the hospital after a normal uncomplicated birth?! (And the reason, per SJ, why some opted for baby #3- all that uninterrupted rest! 😂) I ordered the sequel, Raising Demons.

Since I‘ve moved, I‘ve been spared having to deal with the metro most days since a coworker lives close by and we now commute to and from work together. However, it really cuts into the time I‘ve always had on weekdays to read during my commute, so today I wasn‘t even annoyed I had to take the metro home. Almost done with this and it‘s amazingly delightful! 👌🏻

Minus the children, I feel like my husband and I both feel like we now own a whole house that is just waiting to be filled with more books! Also, I just picked this up to flip through a little and next thing I know I‘m 84 pages deep. Shirley Jackson is a gem.

Shirley Jackson's memoir is amazing.

I adored this family life memoir from the great Shirley Jackson. It‘s hilarious...I just giggled through so many long passages. As a mom of 5, I thought her stories were relatable, despite the fact that she was raising her kids in the 1940s. I found myself reading parts of it out loud to whichever kids happened through the room at the time. So fun!

Great choice for #LMPBC, Tammy! Sorry to all that so many of my marks were just ‘lol‘ or ‘ha!‘ 😂

I just love the first lines of this book... I can totally relate, except that there won‘t be more children (or a husband) when I leave this house. 😂

Bonus for this #whatyourbookstartswith challenge entry: this is Tammy‘s selection for our group for #LMPBC, so you can also see some comments from the illustrious members of Group F. 😃

#24in48

An enjoyable anecdotal memoir about keeping the house and observing (and occasionally attempting to manage) the savages that are her children. I very much enjoyed her turns of phrase and couldn't help but sympathize when she allowed herself the occasional snide remark when the children were too obnoxious or condescending.

Oscillant chipmunk!! Shirley Jackson's way with words amuses me to no end.

#24B42018 I did all right, finishing three books before the new year. It helps to visit a friend who is an avid reader too.
This was the last book I‘ll be able to finish before the end of the year, just in time to mail off for #LMPBC
Thank you @Butterfinger for picking this read!

Awww-yeah! #24B42019 is on! It‘s a bit after midnight here in Colorado and I don‘t have to work tomorrow so I‘m going to get a little time in with one of my favorite authors before passing out!
I‘ll work on my stack in the morning, I just want to get cozy after a day at work.
@TheReadingMermaid @Andrew65

Never fear
@Butterfinger dear
Life Among the Savages is here!
I just checked the mail once I got home from work and the book‘s arrived! Way to use your resources!

Another day; another book.

"Age?" She asked. "Sex? Occupation?"
"Writer," I said.
"Housewife," she said.
"Writer," I said.
"I'll just put down housewife," she said.

This was pretty easy and fun reading. Felt like the original in Mommy blogging, but way more entertaining than actual blogs.

I was too distracted by the book discussion last night to remember to post to social media. 😉 Here's my recreation of the Cafe Cubano using the bag of coffee I had to bring home with me from the coffee shop because it was that delicious.

This post includes an open invitation to anyone here on Litsy who lives in Palm Beach County to join my #bookclub! https://facebook.com/PalmBeachCountyBookClub

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My Litsy app was acting up this week, so I wasn't able to post the Shirley Jackson quotes as promised. I can post images again, so get ready for me to flood your feed with some of my favorite anecdotes from Life Among the Savages!

Also, I am rolling my eyes forever at this particular #quoteoftheday.

My book club is reading Life Among the Savages in March and I AM SO EXCITED YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW.

I'll be sharing a #quoteoftheday with my book club until the meeting, so I'll leave them here for y'all as well. 😊

As a fan of Jackson's work, I was excited to delve into this collection of stories highlighting her everyday life at home with her husband and children.
These gems were funny and still completely relevant today of the chaos that is motherhood and I applaud her for all the incredible writing she accomplished while raising four children and a husband ;)

A comforting must-read for Shirley Jackson fans, I adored this little book!

Full review: https://reneereadsbooks.wordpress.com/2018/01/27/book-review-live-among-the-sava...

It‘s Shirley Jackson‘s birthday. I read a biography of her this year , amazed with the kids and having a man baby for a husband how she got any writing done .And of course, she could not have written a book like “Life among the savages” if she didn‘t have a family.The biography:Shirley Jackson A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin.

Confession time: This stay-at-home-parent gig has been wearing me down lately. As a introverted woman diagnosed with anxiety, depression, and migraines, every single day I don't just stay in bed and cry feels like a success. The isolation and redundancy sometimes feels like it is all too much. @acorter is wonderful and I have very supportive friends. Books have always been a solace to me though. Can anyone relate?
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"Our house is old, noisy, and full. When we moved into it we had two children and about five thousand books; I expect that when we finally overflow and move out again we will have perhaps twenty children and easily half a million books."

I love Jackson's chilling stories, but this is a more lighthearted #family memoir filled with wry humor. #jubilantjuly

A widdle kitty. #animalcovers #riotgrams

Shirley Jackson is a delightfully sarcastic non-fiction writer. I really enjoyed reading this funny and quietly insightful memoir of day-to-day family life. #readathon.

So is "My kid ate my lease." like "The dog ate my homework." for adults? ?? #readathon.

About to take a snack break then start reading a Shirley Jackson memoir. I can't wait to see how Jackson writes non-fiction. #readathon.

My girl never disappoints. This memoir about raising her family is delightful and hilarious. I couldn't stop reading it.