Welcome to Litsy!

r/classicbookclub announced their next group read. Talk to me, Mr. Faulkner, I‘m joining in.

“I am in awe of Faulkner‘s Benjy, James‘s Maisie, Flaubert‘s Emma, Melville‘s Pip, Mary Shelley‘s Frankenstein—each of us can extend the list.... I am interested in what prompts and makes possible this process of entering what one is estranged from.” —Toni Morrison

This was a nice step into Faulkner's best stuff. I loved the book, and was enraptured by the Benjy section.

He's mute and mentally compromised and can only moan. But he observes everything. He watches and feels, but can't interact or express his feelings. He's like a reader. And he floats through time, weaving the present and past in meaningful ways. He catches everything essential, and much that is beautiful and he senses all this.

Started today. And after reading a couple notes…looks like I‘ll need to read that part over again.

Was stream of consciousness the fad of the 1920s? I get that it might have been new and innovative and a tool to convey perspective, but I absolutely loathe it. I didn‘t like To The Lighthouse for that reason and this is worse. The first two chapters are written this way and are very difficult to follow. The third chapter is written in first person and the fourth and final chapter is written in third person. Each follows a different character.

I‘m not a strong advocate for the writings of William Faulkner, as it is clear that the authors close minded views are developed within the framework of his work. Racially biased and strong stereotypical attitudes are often purported throughout, but also have a contradictory and opposite effect on what the author was trying to portray of displaying how short sighted the post civil war south was, ie segregation, Jim Crow, & the lack of humanity.

Here we go! April‘s #bookspin and #doublespin! Thank you for hosting, @TheAromaofBooks 😊

Embarking on reading this #20thCenturyClassics. @Butterfinger @jmofo @sprainedbrain I 1st read it in college freshman English class in 1968. I can't imagine reading it the 1st time w/o some sort of guidance. Pictured is my shelf copy of the book, acquired in 1968 for my class. In it I found the chronological guide the prof provided us (on the right), and my handwritten family genealogy for the Compson family (left).

Another read for our 20th century classics group. This one was a hard read for me, but I persevered, and it was a pick in the end. I had to do some supplemental reading about this book along the way—felt like school again, but it helped.

Definitely southern, clearly well-written, but quite brutal. I felt horrible for Benjy and Caddy, had such hopes for poor Quentin, and Jason… omg I can‘t remember hating a character so.

#1001books

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

It‘s Faulkner's birthday. He was postmaster at the University of Mississippi from 1921-24, neglectful of his duties, and finally resigned. Upon his dismissal, he said: "I reckon I'll be at the beck and call of folks with money all my life, but thank God I won't ever again have to be at the beck and call of every s.o.b. who's got two cents to buy a stamp." He is the only person to have been fired as post master and later receive his own stamp.

This is a hard one for me to rate. It‘s definitely a challenging & interesting read that requires focus & effort to comprehend. I listened completely, listened to parts again, did some reading about the book, and I‘m still not completely satisfied on some points. I don‘t read to be presented with a complex puzzle; I want most of the questions answered by the end. I can‘t say that I actually enjoyed this reading experience.

#1001books #audiobook

I don‘t generally enjoy stream of consciousness and this is so much of that, but I am determined to keep listening and hopefully figure out what is going on in the end. That might include reading more about it as I finish and even listening again to some sections. It helps to read reviews from others I trust that did some of the same and say it‘s worth it.

#1001books #audiobook

I was intimidated by this book even though it‘s got nearly #allthethingsifellforasayoungerreader …I read some reviews and someone said they really struggled until they read the wiki article on the book. My young self would be ashamed to admit it but I‘m not: I read the wiki. I don‘t think it took away from my enjoyment (?) of the book knowing wth.
This photo is a bit irreverent for the subject matter but appropriate on a few levels.
Lots of cw‘s

“There were about a dozen watches in the window, a dozen different hours and each with the same assertive and contradictory assurance mine had, without any hands at all. Contradicting one another. I could hear mine, ticking away inside my pocket, even though nobody could see it, even though it could tell nothing if anyone could.”

#watch #QuotsyJun21 @TK-421

Alternating those classics, but plowing through the summer stack of reads…

This was an engrossing read. A study of a family who is stuck in the old ways - I am better than everyone else because I am... So entitled and so absurd. Warning for racist views - I think it is Faulkner's way to show the absurdity and the cruelty of some Southerners in the early 1900s. @sprainedbrain @jmofo @arubabookwoman

#coverart #firstedition #reading1001 #1001

I am posting one book a day from my extensive collection of books. No explanation of why I have this book. Man, I have a lot of books! Join in the fun. #tbrpile day #6

“Toni Morrison, his fellow Nobel Laureate, wrote that she read Faulkner to ‘find out about this country and that artistic articulation of its past that was not available in history, which is what art and fiction can do but history sometimes refuses to do.‘” (Quotation from an 8/25/2020 NYTimes review by Ayana Mathis of a Faulkner biography. The picture is by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders for Morrison‘s novel “A Mercy.”)

I decided to reread this book after noting Toni Morrison‘s comments on it. It portrays the dissolution of white-persons‘ plantation mentality through the decline of one family. The experimental writing has circling, layered mysteries. I admire his attempt to show the mind of a mentally handicapped man. Faulkner has his own racism though, & a troubling lack of focus on Black characters & (ironically) the female lead. A troubling, important book.

I‘m glad I finally read this but it is one heck of a depressing hard-to-comprehend story. I had to stop and read about the book to get a better understanding before continuing with it. Jason Compson may be one of my top 5 least favorite antagonists. I didn‘t find a minute of enjoyment in not liking him.

My first Faulkner. A masterful novel. I will read more of him. But I need a break from characters that embody privileged white male rage.

Just finished this on a reread.

Anyone who‘s tackled it knows it‘s a richly intense novel, with so many layers that it‘s truly one you could read year after year and keep gaining from it. It‘s also difficult, very much so. But oh so worth it. An unimaginably epic tragicomedy, IMO it should be on everyone‘s “read before they die” list.

Just about managed to get through this one- hats off to kids who read it for school!
Now doodling and propagating some plants, to clear my head of all the random words without grammar or punctuation...

He looked at his watch. Then he went to the door and looked at the courthouse clock. “You ought to have a dollar watch,” I says. “It won‘t cost you so much to believe it‘s lying each time.”

😂

Glad I have a stiff gin drink and a well-versed Goodreads group to tackle this Faulkner read. Getting the hang of the stream-of-consciousness writing!

I‘ve been slow with this one... But hoping to change that over the weekend. Happy Friday everyone!🌻

I read the words of this book but I'm not exactly sure what I read. I have this image of all of Faulkner's characters in these repeat loops and the end harkening back to the beginning did not help this impression! Super disappointed to miss the class discussion on this one but As I Lay Dying is next, so even if I feel I need to discuss and start again, instead I move onward....

Just added a new Catching Up On The Classics Reading Challenge Sticker Set to the shop! I needed a little push to crack open some of the classics on my TBR! #theplanningbutler #theplanningbutlerreads

#DearDecember #BlackGoldCover I love Franklin Library leather editions.I only buy them used at library sales .

Some of the books I #readinhighschool that are still in my home library. It hadn't occurred to me how few women authors I read in school until I saw this lineup. I especially loved Hemingway and Faulkner back then. I thought I was the cat's pajamas when I finally figured out how to read The Sound and the Fury.

#GratefulReads Day 21
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620

I bought a used book listed as "in good condition" but I beg to differ.
I certainly don't mind annotations, but if part of a page is missing, how could I read it?

My brother walked in on me reading this and I said I was enjoying it and he said "wow, it must be really good for you to be enjoying a book by an old dead white man" and I'm just so proud of how much my reading habits have changed to reflect my values in recent years ? ?
#newyearwhodis @Emilymdxn @monalyisha

Front porch reading 🥰 Earlier there was a spring/summer rain shower and it smelled like heaven, and now the sky is blue and the sun is shining 💕
Totally absorbed by this book, I can hardly put it down @Emilymdxn #newyearwhodis @monalyisha

Started this today after finishing the Association of Small Bombs last night! (Which was fantastic and fixed my reading slump) I will readily admit to using Sparknotes to figure out Benjy's chapter, but I also loved the chapter and am totally hooked. So excited to finally be reading this! I loved the Unvanquished when I read it in high school. #newyearwhodis @Emilymdxn @monalyisha

My next #1001Books. Wish me luck! I tried reading this back when Oprah‘s Book Club had the “Summer of Faulkner”, but DNF. Maybe this time will be better?!

This is my favorite book by my favorite author not an easy read takes some effort but totally worth it. If you‘re just starting on his work try Absalom Absalom it‘s great too. These two books are considered the best books by Southern writers.

This is Faulkner's most widely read novel. It tells the story of the Compson family's disintegration through four different narrators. It requires multiple readings, but it's a fun puzzle.

1. The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner 📖
2. Other than Shakespeare...Anita Shreve 📝
3. Movie - Sunset Boulevard; TV show - Seinfeld 📺
4. Spanakopita 🥬

Happy Monday, all!
#ManicMonday
#letterS
@JoScho

My first finished and definitely last Faulkner. 😒 #litsyclassics

Going down as one of the best books I‘ve ever read. Through the eyes of three brothers, we get to see the demise of a Southern family‘s final generation. Both style and sense of chronology shift as you meet the three narrators, each unreliable and stress-inducing in his own way. #litsyclassics

Anyone else love literary allusions in titles of books? The Sound and the Fury might be of my favorites (from Macbeth Act 5 Scene 5). Curious to see other people's favorites, so let me know in the comments below! #titleallusions

@Jess7 #readingresolutions

Prompt: Brothers

Here are two classic novels about brothers. Sorry to say I have no brothers to post a picture of.

I started this as the first book of the 1001 book challenge. I don't really read classics and want to change that. I only read 4 books of the whole list! It's quite strange! So far it's about a mentally handicapped man of 33 and his family. The story changes from the present to memories of the past and back without any warning, so that makes it difficult to follow.

#1001books #classics

.....maybe Faulkner isn't for me.

I‘m torn on this...I believe this isn‘t one of his best. It‘s giving me a lot to ponder over for a while.

I have studied William Faulkner with a southern Faulkner scholar and was wondering if anyone wanted to start a reading group based on his books, especially The Sound and the Fury and Absalom, Absalom! I could answer questions and possibly guide others through the text as well as offer insights into some of his symbolism and techniques. Leave a comment if interested, and we‘ll figure out how to do it.

Been ages since I‘ve read his books. I believe I haven‘t read this one yet.

Mississippi so William Faulkner of course. #statebooks

http://www.businessinsider.com/famous-book-set-in-every-state-2016-4?utm_source=...

There are few things as pleasant to me as the scent of #honeysuckle on the breeze and the sound of tree frogs at dusk #happyplace #goodnightyall