Welcome to Litsy!

repost for @BarkingMadRead

Ok #hashtagbrigade itβ€˜s about that time again! Our first book of 2026 is Shirley! Drop a comment below if youβ€˜d like to join in! Anyone can join, but please know that my hashtags are often ridiculous and always chapter spoilers, so you should read the chapter before you read my post!

#BuddyRead

#HashtagBrigade

Am I probably actually going to read a free copy from Project Gutenberg downloaded to my ereader? YES

Did I nonetheless splurge on this beautiful hardcover? YES

Does it match my other Anne and Charlotte Brontë Everyman‘s Library editions? YES

Am I probably going to buy Wuthering Heights in the same edition, even though I own it in a Penguin black spine paperback and will likely never reread having already read it twice? YES

Ok #hashtagbrigade it‘s about that time again! Our first book of 2026 is Shirley! Drop a comment below if you‘d like to join in! Anyone can join, but please know that my hashtags are often ridiculous and always chapter spoilers, so you should read the chapter before you read my post!

Reposting for @barkingmadread
Ok #hashtagbrigade here is our 2026 schedule! A chapter a day for all but the Count of Monte Cristo. Since the chapters are shorter, we will do 3 a day. Anna Karenina is our very first #hashtagbrigadesidequest and we will start her on February 1, a chapter a day, alongside whatever other books we are reading at the time. Iβ€˜ll post again in December to see who wants to read Shirley!

Ok #hashtagbrigade here is our 2026 schedule! A chapter a day for all but the Count of Monte Cristo. Since the chapters are shorter, we will do 3 a day. Anna Karenina is our very first #hashtagbrigadesidequest and we will start her on February 1, a chapter a day, alongside whatever other books we are reading at the time. I‘ll post again in December to see who wants to read Shirley!

I‘ve had to resort to an ereader once again πŸ“š this weekend I need to read several novelsβ€” Shirley (which I quite like), The Professor, The Gift of Asher Lev and My Name is Asher Lev, The Dybbuk, and Regrowth by Der Nister. That‘s not listing the textbook chapters and scholarly articles also assigned. Thankfully, they‘re all on this beautiful little device so I can speed read at my ease instead of carrying their collective literary weight πŸ“•πŸ“—πŸ“˜πŸ“™

As a part of my yearly goal to read all of the works of the Brontë sisters, Shirley was apart of my required reading for the year. A far cry from Jane Eyre. I found Shirley lagging in plot, and difficult to imbed oneself into the story as I usually do in most of the books I read. To be fair it was well written but not to my taste, I would have shelfed it earlier if it was not a personal goal of mine to complete this novel in its entirety.

This was quite a pleasant surprise for my #bookspin it took me a long time to read it... I was worried it was going to be really boring, and it was dense, but an entertaining read! The set up was quite obvious from the start but I enjoyed the dialogue and a lot of wry humour from the narrator!

@TheAromaofBooks

#QuotsyOct20 #unusual @TK-421

Such a joy to read. Two brothers find their true loves during a rocky time of the Industrial Revolution. I enjoyed the different romances and how each relationships were developed. All four find themselves with an illness that only their love can cure. That was a little bit too much.

#EasterExtravaganza @Andrew65 4/5
#ClassicsChallenge2020 @Reviewsbylola

I never can touch her hand, or a ringlet of her head, or a ribbon of her dress, but I will make privileges for myself. Every feature of her face, her bright eyes, her lips, shall go through each change they know, for my pleasure- display each exquisite variety of glance and curve, to delight, thrill, perhaps more hopelessly to enchain me.If I must be her slave, I will not lose my freedom for nothing.

I may like this more than Wuthering Heights.

We have none of us long to live. Let us help each other through seasons of want and woe as well as we can, without heeding in the least the scruples of vain philosophy.

Love can excuse anything except meanness; but meanness kills love, cripples even natural affection; without esteem true love cannot exist.

#WeeklyForecast @Cinfhen

Continue reading and discussing - Joseph and His Brothers and 1Q84 (I can't wait to be finished with these two)

Complete Shirley (another GoodReads discussion), Twig, and A Friend of the Family

Begin The Sandman, Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and Anne of Avonlea

Not being a native, nor for any length of time a resident of the neighborhood, he did not sufficiently care when the new inventions threw the old workplace out of employ.

I never thought this would have been relevant in 1811. I thought the Industrial Revolution brought jobs to the people, but this was before IR. Maybe, it means farm machinery and the tenants were being replaced. 🀷

Faves of 2019 #adventrecommends Dec 12

This was another Litsy buddy read, this time with the fabulous #shirlitesunite group. A book that started out slow but won me over with its female characters and their deep, complex conversations with each other, set against the politically-engaged backdrop of the Luddite uprisings in Yorkshire.

@emilyrose_x

It was a bit of a slow start with this book, but once the title character enters the scene it‘s been an absolute treat. Jane Eyre will always be my favourite of Charlotte‘s work, but Shirley is quickly becoming a firm favourite. I love spirited & intelligent heroines, & Shirley is the very definition of this. If you haven‘t read this one, I highly recommend it. I‘ve even laughed out loud at a couple of parts, always a sign of a good book.

Luddite is a pretty pejorative term now but the destructive of new technology in northern English mills into the early 1800s was a protest over working conditions and deskilling during a time of economic upheaval. Shirley is set against this backdrop in West Yorkshire. #ayupaugust #IPredictARiot @Cinfhen @squirrelbrain

#calamity #Quotsy #QuotsyAug19 #LitsyQuoteChallenge

In the shop at the Van Gogh and Britain exhibit they had cards with quotes showing how Van Gogh was influenced by/thought about various British novels they know be read and talked about! Gonna post a couple so you guys can see.

I had no idea he was so well read, I really want to buy a copy of his letters and track down his influences and just generally read more about him.

So late to the #ShirlitesUnite party, but I‘m glad I finally finished! I'm not the biggest fan of Jane Eyre, so I went in with a bit of trepidation here. It started a bit slowly, and with a very Jane-ish character at the center, but once smart ass, progressive, Shirley comes to town, everything picks up. Shirley is described at one point as the kind of woman you fall in love with a year after meeting her. My kind of girl all the way then.

Thanks to:
πŸ’œthe #shirlitesunite buddy readers for a great readalong!
πŸ’œ#TOB for making me read books I might otherwise skip. (And sometime still wish I had - I'm looking at you Overstory. 😬)
πŸ’œ@thebookhippie for giving me incentive to read a children's lit classic.
πŸ’œhonest, brave, prose stylists like Ephron, Athill & Wang
πŸ’œand Virginia Woolf for being Virginia Woolf

It was a great month of reading!!

I was nervous to tackle this one, but once Shirley and Caroline came into the picture I was completely absorbed. I was drawn into the love stories but also into how the heroines viewed their role in society and how they made their place, overcoming stereotypes of the time. Some of Shirley‘s speeches made me want to stand up and applaud. Not much to add to the other wonderful reviews by fellow buddy readers. #shirlitesunite

I enjoyed this immensely, especially the latter part..the last few hundred pages flew by. In Shirley, Charlotte Bronte gave us an insight into her opinions about varying topics that she was most ardent about. I love the remarkably drawn characters, especially the two heroines; the beautiful language; interesting archaic words and declarations of love; her satirical sense of humour, and even the historical parts..it‘s worth taking the time. ⬇️

Shirley is often referred to as Charlotte BrontΓ«'s social novel, & is set in Yorkshire with the Napoleonic Wars & the Luddite uprisings taking place. Initially I found the novel hard to get into because of the 3rd-person narrative; both Jane Eyre & Villette, which are 1st-person narratives, are books that I love quite intensely! But as soon as it delved into the main characters, Shirley & Caroline, I couldn't put this down. πŸ‘‡πŸ½ #shirlitesunite

#shirlitesunite A celebratory β˜• of my fave brew having finished another glorious Bronte. I loved the historical context of the battle against creeping industrialisation whilst the napolenic wars rage + port blockades stop trade. Beautifully drawn characters and plot with a sense of place + season that had me totally absorbed.
@Blaire @erzascarletbookgasm @LeahBergen @merelybookish @batsy @mklong @Weaponxgirl @saresmoore @rubyslippersreads

Just finished this chapter where the true identity of a certain person is revealed. I‘m truly invested in the story now, since a few chapters back, compared to the earlier part of the book. #shirlitesunite

This turned out to be my favorite of Charlotte Brontë‘s books. She toyed with convention, perspective, and probably what her readers expected. The historical bits weren‘t compelling, but I‘m glad they were there. I think this framework facilitated a greater freedom in her construction and design of the rest of the book. About halfway through, when she really settled into that psychological character study that I know and love, is when I knew... ?

I've been reading on the go today (at the hair salon, in the parent pick-up line), but saved the last chapter for tonight.
Pages in this battered copy are starting to fall out, and the Luddite mug seemed appropriate, even tho they didn't factor as much in the plot as I expected.
Almost sad to finish this one!
#shirlitesunite
@saresmoore @Blaire @LeahBergen @batsy @mklong @andrew61 @rubyslippersreads @erzascarletbookgasm @Weaponxgirl

#shirlitesunite Read the next chapter and well i never!
Anyway here is a cure for all that ails you which i will keep handy for my next dose of man flu.

I do like caroline - mrs yorke has just said that hortense is not sharp witted then is sly to C abt Robert and C gives her what for. what she sees in Robert moore i don't know!
And what's going on Robert has a brother.
I think someone shd write a bk abt jessie and rose.
shd i read another chapter before turning the light off? Just 1☺
@Blaire @erzascarletbookgasm @LeahBergen @merelybookish @batsy @mklong @Weaponxgirl @saresmoore #shirlitesunite

Another fun chapter title. This book has absorbed me! #shirlitesunite

Removed the names from this in order not to spoil it for anyone, but I really like this. It's a sort of lowkey but unabashedly feminist thing to put in the mouths of male characters ... especially since the novel is packed with discussions about the nature of marriage & its conditions for women.

And with this I've reached the end. I'm sad it's over! I struggled with the early chapters but then got completely swept up ❀️ #shirlitesunite

Oh, my. I‘m getting a little twitterpated over here! I think I‘m a Louis fan. #shirlitesunite

Shirley, unhappy kid and I are at the orthodontist's office. πŸ™ (Someone is getting braces.)
I was away for the weekend and didn't get much reading done. But I did cross the 400 page mark. A secret I suspected was revealed.
And anyone else find the stuff about Rose and Jessy Yorke's graves kind of weird? It came up again.
#shirlitesunite @blaire @leahbergen @batsy @mklong @saresmoore @andrew61 @erzascarletbookgasm

"My life in this house was sedentary, solitary, constrained, joyless, toilsome." I sense that a lot of Charlotte's feelings about the social and economic position of governesses was poured into this passage. This is an interesting read: https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/charlotte-brontes-teaching-career

#shirlitesunite @merelybookish @andrew61 @Blaire @erzascarletbookgasm @LeahBergen @mklong @saresmoore @rubyslippersreads @Weaponxgirl

Question Shirlites: Is Shirley also in love with Robert Moore? Or are we seeing it through Caroline's eyes? And follow-up question...do we like Robert? πŸ€”

BBC Radio 4 did an adaptation of Shirley back in 2014. Not sure if it's still available. The voice actors are shown above. Look at the eyes on Robert! πŸ˜€
@blaire @batsy @andrew61 @saresmoore @LeahBergen @mklong @Weaponxgirl @rubyslippersreads @erzascarletbookgasm
#shirlitesunite

Count me in! πŸ˜†πŸ˜†

They sure don‘t title chapters like they used to, do they?

#ShirlitesUnite

Well, thank goodness I don‘t live in the Brontes‘ time...I certainly wouldn‘t be clever! πŸ™„

#shirlitesunite

Valentine's Day wouldn't be the same without some dark, brooding BrontΓ«-esque musings on love πŸ˜‰πŸ’ž #loveisreal #themostreal #themostlasting #loveisbitter #itisstrong #strongasdeath

Courtesy of my current buddy read #shirlitesunite

@merelybookish @andrew61 @Blaire @erzascarletbookgasm @LeahBergen @mklong @saresmoore @rubyslippersreads @Weaponxgirl

Well, this is interesting... here‘s Charlotte using this phrase again.

Have any of you watched this most recent biopic? I thought it was very well done.

#ShirlitesUnite

@merelybookish @saresmoore @batsy @andrew61 @Blaire @mklong @Weaponxgirl @erzascarletbookgasm @rubyslippersreads (am I missing anyone?)

#shirlitesunite
Next year is 200th anniversary of peterloo when red coats charged and killed men and women protesting in a field in the centre of Manchester. I wonder if this image had any influence on these extracts when moore contemplates the use of troops to control his protesting workers. I also have just read the lovely mermaid paragraph
@Blaire @erzascarletbookgasm @LeahBergen @merelybookish @mklong @batsy @Weaponxgirl @saresmoore

So I don‘t think I‘m going to get round to reading this for #shirlitesunite unfortunately. I‘m such a mood reader and I‘m not feeling my namesake this month.
That being said please still all tag me in your posts about this as I‘m loving seeing what old style me was up to!