Welcome to Litsy!

This has been on my Hoopla “Favorites” for years (on my GR TBR since 2016!), and I finally got to it this month! It starts out as the story of a woman who breaks free from the constraints of her family and the expectations of society, setting up house for herself in the countryside. The majority of the book is funny and ironic—though slow-paced—and then towards the end, there‘s almost a complete genre shift ⤵️

“That‘s why we become witches: to show our scorn of pretending life‘s a safe business, to satisfy our passion for adventure.”

“One doesn‘t become a witch to run round being harmful, or to run round being helpful either, a district visitor on a broomstick. It‘s to escape all that—to have a life of one‘s own, not an existence doled out to you by others, charitable refuse of their thoughts, so many ounces of stale bread of life a day…”

“Mr. Arbuthnot certainly was not prepared for her response to his statement that February was a dangerous month. ‘It is,‘ answered Laura with almost violent agreement. ‘If you are a werewolf, and very likely you may be, for lots of people are without knowing, February, of all months, is the month when you are most likely to go out on a dark windy night and worry sheep.‘

Henry and Caroline glanced at each other in horror.
⤵️

Afternoon reads and snacks for #deweys #readathon #deweyoct

Went for a walk to listen to the Backlisted podcast episode on Lolly Willowes. I‘m hoping to reread it sometime this #readathon weekend. I read it years ago and was loved it, was reminded recently that Lolly Willowes was 47 years old when she went off to seek her independence in the country/ became a witch, and I just turned 47. Thought it was time for a reread! #dewey #deweyreadathon #deweys24hrreadathon #deweyoctober

I truly enjoyed 1 & 2 but part 3– still excellent as a metaphor but disappointing as a story.

I‘m still delighted with this book. It‘s likely to be very important to me in terms of literary research.

Still, I‘ll have to figure out why I‘m so reticent to approve the third part.

Note: going bookshopping the day after your paycheck arrives is more expensive than during other times of the month. But I‘m excited for my new books! 💜💜

My very favourable review of Lolly Willowes is included in this video:

https://youtu.be/BdkdcsC2v6I

#QueerLit #Classics #CanadianAuthors #PrizeLists

I liked this. It takes an unexpected turn (that I won't spoil), but I liked how it portrayed a woman living life on her own, her way.

I enjoyed this one, but I was also expecting a bit more. A good portion of the book is taken up with Lolly just being. Then when she does finally break free, she still just seems to exist. I was expecting to see her start making things or doing something other than just escaping to wander the countryside. Yet, I absolutely loved her individualism and the commentary on women‘s lives.

#audiobook #SpinsterLit

It‘s heeeeere!!! @BeeMagical I‘m excited, I can‘t wait, I can‘t think of a better way to finish a Monday. Thank you for your Halloween Spirit and energy on this 🎃🎃 #HauntedHollowSwap #HHS23

#botm arrived today!

A unique story abt a spinster in her late 40's who leaves her london home with her pompous br to move to a small cottage in the chilterns where she emerges from her chrysalis to commune with nature + strange goings on in the community. As she changes her escape is manifested in the relationship with her nephew Titus. In this feminist tale of supernatural deals, there is another more sinister character, portrayed in the frieze on lincoln cathedral

Lolly Willowes is much shorter than The Corner That Held Them, but I liked it. It‘s a story of a woman who never gets married because first she takes care of her father, and when he dies she moves into her brother‘s house and helps take care of his kids. In her late 40s, she gets tired of this and moves alone to the country where things take an interesting turn. I got my walk in before the deluge. 😊 #audiowalk

I really liked The Corner That Held Them, so I thought I‘d try another Warner book. This has been a quiet story so far as well. It warmed up quite a bit - into the 60s. #audiowalk

#12booksof2022

October‘s favorite is a toss up between these absolute gems. I loved them both for their strong female leads, sparkling humor, and general badassery. Everyone needs a Lolly and a Miss Pettigrew in their life 👯‍♀️

Lolly is a spinster of independent means but is living a life thrust upon her by others rather than the one she truly wants. One day she finally breaks free and moves to the small town of her dreams where she can ramble about outdoors to her hearts‘ content. When her peace is threatened she must either reconcile herself to her lot as Aunt Lolly or find her inner strength. I loved Lolly and everything this book had to say about her role as a woman.

Well, this witchy feminist book was delightful 🧙🏻‍♀️👹. I‘m really glad I stumbled upon it in my Goodreads TBR a few months ago and remembered it again when considering spooky books for Oct. I‘d be lying if I said I never thought about running off to the countryside to be left alone (perhaps that‘s how I wound up in CA 🤔)

I found another fun crossover between my current reads- both Middlemarch and Lolly mention Milton‘s blindness ⬇️

Indulging in a short, witchy read from the 1920s 🧙‍♀️

This highlighted response sounds like something Luna Lovegood would say 😂

My book club is starting the lengthy process of putting together our 2023 reading list. It requires Google forms & multiple rounds of voting. 😅 I know you‘ll all appreciate the high degree of nerdiness.

Here are my submissions for the year to come! What do you think? Would *you* be in a book club with me? Have you read any? Would they make for good discussions? Are there any on your TBR? Any you‘d stay away from?

#AlphabetGame @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
Letter L

It has to be Lolly for me 🖤 #spinsterlit

If Mildred from #ExcellentWomenandBoiledPotatoes ran away to the county and became a witch. 😆

#PemberLittens
I'd never heard the name Everard until
#excellentwomenandboiledpotatoes Readalong. Now it's popped up in Current Read: "Everard, the eldest son...." is ancestor of Lolly.

I picked this out from Book of the Month because it was the very 1st #BOTM back in 1926.
#conciedenceIthinknot

One of the more intriguing books from 1926 now in the public domain and Serial Reader:

"Lolly" breaks away from her controlling family to the countryside where she finds freedom... and witchcraft! Yes! Satire, comedy, fantasy, and feminism all in one.

Read it in 16 issues with #serialreader

Delightful and then delightfully wicked. I‘d have enjoyed it just for the brilliant Lolly; her spinsterhood and wistful nostalgia for the independence of childhood and the home where she could explore nature. In later life Lolly throws caution to the wind, undoes the ties that bind and creates a new home. I fell in love with her new life in Great Mop and enjoyed her fight to keep it. Beautifully written with a feminist barb in its tail.

Published in 1926, later becoming the very first Book Of The Month, Lolly Willowes is a classic of feminist literature—and unapologetically, literally witchy. Laura, called Lolly by her niblings, is a spinster smothered by family obligation. She moves to the countryside alone to pursue her own life. This is a brief but slow-building novella but the payoff is worth the wait for Laura and for her readers.

I bought this book in a second-hand bookshop recently and it‘s falling to pieces! I am roughly halfway through and loving every minute of it. I might have to buy a cleaner, better copy at some point. Also notice the publisher‘s logo 🤨. I guess they have an ironic sense of humour.

My haul from the book town I visited yesterday

Hi! ❤️ I have been very inactive here, and i missed you all. I finished reading Willowes sometime back, and missed the discussion, yet again. But i went through the comments, which I found to be an interesting exchange of thoughts. Here‘s my review:

Lolly (Laura), an ageing spinster is forced to live with her relations and be part of their domestic lives. The notion that, because a woman is not married, she is not an individual, is sharply,👇🏽

#NYRBBookClub So,I think it should be called the Spinster lit book club as many of the titles are in this vein .I enjoyed the book , its dry humor.No doubt it is a rich topic as women are seen as daughter , debutant, bride , mother , grandmother & what to make of a woman who doesn‘t follow the path. Laura‘s role as aunt submerged her relationship w/ nature when uprooted from a county house to life in London w/ family.No wonder she escaped !

Feminism, witches, repressive 1926 society - the pieces suggest a novel we don't even have to read -- we get the gist from the blurb on the back flap. Except that's just not the case with this novel. It's neither the fantasy novel nor the satire you might expect. The title character spends most of the novel in a realistic world and doesn't spend it fighting against the oppressive forces of a patriarchal society 👇

Question 6: At the beginning of the book, Lolly (Laura) feels the pressures of familial obligations. These remain even after her move to Great Mop. Once she has made a pact with the devil, has she truly gained independence or is she still under forced obligation but of another kind?

#NYRBBookClub

Question 5: Warner's style has been variously described as detached & breezy, yet there is some great humor present. Do you find Warner's style effective?

#NYRBBookClub

Question 4: Lolly (Laura) lives with Henry & Caroline for 20 years before she has her epiphany in the grocery shop, precipitating her announcement that she is moving to Great Mop. Did her announcement surprise you?

#NYRBBookClub

Question 3: Published in 1926, many reviewers noted the precarious position of women at the time in a post war society. Lolly was an international bestseller upon publication. Do you think this was due to Warner addressing/tackling issues of the patriarchy, or other reasons?

#NYRBBookClub

Question 2: The title of the book is from the nickname first given to Laura by her young niece. Laura always disliked the nickname. Why would Warner use it as the title of the book?

#NYRBBookClub

Question 1: In her essay, Justine Jordan writes, “For there is steel in Lolly Willows, though much of its bite and danger is hidden, even from Lolly herself. There is the ancient power of myth and landscape, the dark woods and lanes through which Lolly blithely strolls and which feel as though they could swallow her up at any moment.“ Do you agree with this statement?
#NYRBBookDiscussion

Coffee with Lolly this morning. I hope I finish in time for the chat, but even if not, I‘m so glad we picked this one since this BOTM edition has been staring at me accusingly for at least five years!

#NYRBBookClub

When her father died, Laura Willowes went to live in London with her elder brother and his family.

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

2⭐️ It‘s tough to enjoy this book while I still have “Look at Me” hot in my mind. Lolly Willowes is a spinster craving for solitude, and the book keeps circling this theme in the first half that I got bored with it. I totally lost it when witchcraft enters the picture 🤦🏻‍♀️

Reading Lolly Willowes…. and I‘m bored. I get it, she‘s a spinster who wants to be left alone, but why the part with the cat, the devil etc? 😵‍💫 Anita Brookner‘s “Look at Me” set a high standard for a spinster lit, and I don‘t find it here with Lolly

It‘s time to start this month‘s #NYRBBookClub pick! @vivastory @quietjenn

#ReadWithAGlassOfWine #Summer2021 @Lauram

Going to start this….

The First World War wiped out a generation of young English men and left behind young women, both widows and spinsters, who went in search for a life of their own.
So does Lolly Willowes, who escapes convention by becoming a witch. Doesn‘t that sound great? I think it does, but the book is (some great quotes aside) mainly booooooring.

#NYRBBookClub

I wasn‘t able to participate in the last NYRB discussion, but hoping to make it to this one!

Sylvia about this book: “I felt as though I had tried to make a sword, only to be told what a pretty pattern there was on the blade”, she wrote to a friend.

#nyrbbookclub