Welcome to Litsy!

Catching up on #decemberdreams today and for Bella it has to be this one, which is one of my favourite books I read this year!

#wintergames @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks #snowangels

Stumbled on a few vintage books in a charity shop and this was the first I read.
Set in a lay community Murdoch contrasts the deeds of the characters with the virtues preached by the religion. The myth of the old bell adds an eerie layer.

Audiobook - pretty juicy 🙏
12th June 2023

The setting is a small religious community in #Gloucestershire where people find refuge who try to escape the real world. The community values virtue and moral codes but almost everyone disobeys the unwritten rules which set in motion various events, all related to the old bell that has been missing from the bell tower for ages. An enjoyable read but by far not as good as The Black Prince and The Sea, the Sea.
#1001books #UKRoadtrip #192025 #1958

#weeklyforecast 23/23

I am reading some classics after a lot of contemporary fiction. I am in the midst of both the Murdoch and the DuMaurier and they are great! After these, it‘s time to start reading for #CampToB. Looking forward to it!

This has been on my shelves unread since I picked it up second-hand in 1980. Murdoch explores themes of faith, love and guilt via the members and guests of lay religious community. Loved it.

Confession: I only read two books in July! Of the two, this was my favourite

#12BooksOf2021
@Andrew65

This was my #BookSpin read for July. I‘m really not sure what I make of it. It‘s an easy read, but the characters are all rather ghastly, and I don‘t feel that Murdoch had quite mastered the art of making ghastly characters engaging yet - her next novel, A Severed Head, published 3 years later, had, I feel, much better drawn characters.

@TheAromaofBooks

This one is my #BookSpin for the month.

@TheAromaofBooks

Never really did get into this at all. 😞

After searching and searching, I've settled on this for my audiobook.

Some terrible first edition art for a fantastic novel. The setting is perfect, allowing Murdoch to explore aspects of the religious community as well as using the wild landscape and the summer atmosphere. Great characters, but again not particularly likeable, especially Dora and Paul, the central couple. I think Murdoch is a bit of a love or hate author though, so far I find her books really rewarding to read.

....one is never secure.

An adventurous beginning.....Dora will be an interesting character, no doubt.....
I have liked every book by Murdoch so far, slowly working my way through them all, so I have high hopes I'll like this....

So today some of the hand bell choir took a field trip to the factory in PA and saw how the bells are made. Here‘s a lathe where the bell is turned and small filings of bronze are cut away from the inside as part of the tuning process. Then it‘s more tuning, polishing, adding a handle, and packing. They make the cases too.

During the ride I read a big chunk of my book, and when I got home my Bombas #socks had arrived!

Congratulations on reaching 100k Litfluence, @DGRachel! Here are just some books I own that I would heartily recommend over and over! Thanks for an awesome giveaway!

#SharetheLitsyLove

At a conference in the Hunter Valley wine region today but still managed to enjoy a bit of reading in the sun on this cool winter day. This is my haul from my local community library this morning!

The characters in The Bell are all suffering in love - bad marriages or unrequited love. But what stands out is one character's struggle between his homosexuality and his devout faith - the pain and struggle she conveys is deep and I ached for him. This is my third book by Iris Murdoch and I will definitely go for more. She's such a skillful writer and it was rumored she didn't allow editors to touch her work, making her all the more impressive.

There doesn't seem to be a lot of #Irislove on Litsy - I wonder why? Is everyone to busy with contemporary books? I haven't read one in a long time because, I'll admit, they are intense and I've read almost all her novels, but there was a period in my life I found them enthralling. I still say her characters are more true to life in their dialogue and emotional expression than that of most writers. Not pictured here: A Word Child (borrowed).

Those who hope, by retiring from the world, to earn a holiday from human frailty, in themselves and others, are usually disappointed.

Interesting story, but only so-so for me. Many sermons interspersed and took a long while to get going. Much naval-gazing by many characters with no resolution or redemption.