Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life | 
My current reads 📚📚
✨ Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin is an absorbing cradle-to-grave bio of the writer. I am loving it.
✨ Hunters of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson is book 7 of the Dune series, the first that was not written by Frank Herbert. While it‘s nice for me to be back in the world of Dune, the writing and plot are terribly mid. I‘ll probably finish it, but I‘m not sure that I‘ll move on to book 8.
So far the book is as riveting as Jackson‘s work.
pickThe thoroughness of this book is incredible. My only complaint is I could have done with much less about her husband (who was less than wonderful), though I understand the need to discuss him in the biography. I very much enjoyed learning about where Shirley was in her life when writing certain stories or novels and their correlations to her past and present. She was such a brilliant author. #readharder2022
My cuddle buddies are in full effect this #caturday. I just can‘t put this down. It‘s very thoroughly researched and well written. As soon as I saw this year‘s #readharderchallenge prompts, I knew this was the author biography I needed to read. #lennox #huey #catsoflitsy
pickShirley Jackson was fascinating and led a much too short but very crazy life, raising four kids and supporting the family with income from stories, parenting memoirs, and deeply complex novels with underlying themes of fear and anxiety and multiple personalities - all autobiographical aspects to some degree. This biography is thorough, maybe too thorough, but covers about everything we know about her. I‘m really grateful to have listened to it.
My next audio. I was really indecisive on what to choose. It was supposed to be A Town Called Solace, but I didn‘t like the narrator in the sample. Next choice was Bewilderment. The narrator seemed better but didn‘t feel right. So I balked on both and found something else - this. And the beginning has been simply terrific. Shirley Jackson was such a special author.
Again, I look to my goodreads booklists for inspiration. #Haunted #Scarathlon #PhotoChallenge
Another favorite author 🏚👻 I read Hill House last year; saw the movie forever ago. There is a pie quote in the book: Eleanor says, “I like apple pie with sour cream.” #PieinLiterature #LitPie #iLovePie 🥧
As a short story writer & speculative fiction fan, Jackson is one of my literary idols. I rarely read nonfiction, but am enjoying this detailed look at the life of Jackson, who cultivated a witchy persona. Jackson was indeed interested in plants and healing and poisons, a practice sometimes linked to witchcraft. @StayCurious #scarathalon #TeamHarkness #witchy #horror #genius
A master of horror & domestic comedy would probably appreciate the LEGO cafe on a day with no school! But seriously, I am loving this fascinating, well-written biography. Non-fiction often drags for me, so if the biographer keeps me hooked, she‘s good! #biography #authors #talent
pickI heard there's a movie coming out about Shirley Jackson's life in a fictionalized way, so I had to reread this to make sure I'm ready for it. This book is a delight, and I enjoyed reading it the second time even more than the first time.
I‘m reading my first book in over A MONTH, but I still acquired a couple of books this month. Here‘s to hoping this slump is over and I can get back to my regularly scheduled program of reading. 🤞🏻
I‘ve been really enjoying reading fiction and non fiction pairs. I‘m equally enjoying shopping for them! #bookhaul
pickI read The Lottery when I was young; it scared me so much that I could not read any more of the short stories. Currently, with the rise of Hollywood reimagining Jackson's and Atwell's work, I feel I have to revisit. I'm ready. Franklin did a great job exposing Jackson's insecurities and how she turned them into bestsellers. #24b4monday. It took me 13 hours. How appropriate.
Litsy, I have a request!
Can you share your favorite female or LGBTQA horror writers? I love this genre but I‘m dreading reading horror written from a perspective where women are victim or exploit right now. POC prominence would also be amazing. I found an awesome list to get started but would love to hear faves!
https://www.unboundworlds.com/2018/03/best-horror-novels-women/
#horror #womeninhorror #lgbtq #transbooks #diversity #diversehorror
pickReading Shirley Jackson in college was a revelation. Loved the way in which she brought horror to seemingly normal spaces, showing the darkness among the domestic and familiar. This biography is great, as it shines a light on her life and the importance of her work (which is highly regarded by authors like Stephen King and Neil Gaiman). I‘m really loving this revival of Shirley Jackson!
pickThe first really good book I've read in a long time. I'm a huge fan of Shirley Jackson and I'm fascinated by both her writing and her life. Having also read Private Demons, I'd say this is the better biography. Demons plays up much of the myth making of Jackson's life, while Haunted comes across as much more scholarly and realistic. Jackson is an amazing figure and well worth reading about! HIGHLY recommend!
- Length of audiobook = 19 hours and 25 minutes
- Due back in 21 days
- Average dog walk = 45 min 2xs a day for total of 90 mins a day
Doable? ✅
Is that too much Shirley Jackson in my head? 🤔
Nah - you‘re fine - download it ✅
I‘m so excited to start this! I ❤️ Shirley Jackson! I‘ve just barely started, it‘s amazing to see how much life is in her work
pickThis book took me 2 months to read. I already loved Jackson's work, but I lived in this lovely book with her for so long, I don't know what to do without her.
Thorough, intersectional, it really conveyed her depth within the context of her family and professional life. Could've used less info about her husband's (seemingly tedious) work, but overall great. #weirdatlast
My backyard is full of crows and I'm officially a witch. Good background noise for this book, as Shirley Jackson also claimed to be a witch in some of her author bios. #weirdatlast
The first part of my book haul from my Christmas gift card. The hubby has been giving me gift cards since he hates shopping for books. It's a win win for us. 😁📚📚
It's mine!!!! Eekkk I'm so happy!!!
I‘m still beating last month‘s number of books bought, but I‘m weak. I haven‘t been able to ban my book buying completely. Two signed editions brought home from last night‘s author event at Midtown Scholar. #bookbuyingbanfail #iregretnothing #almostnothing
#LitsyPartyOfOne underway — thanks again to @JenP for the terrific book and the solar cell-phone charger 💜
Staring this tonight. Starting early for tome topple and non fiction November.
pickI took a long time to finish this book, but only because I was sad to see it end. Definitely one of my favorites!
And it's still there!!
(As seen at #UniversityBookStore in Seattle, Washington.) #LemonySnicket #mischiefmanaged #authorvisits #ShirleyJackson
8 inches of snow and it's still coming down. Time for a bubble bath with good beer and a good read.
Just started this biography of Shirley Jackson.
pickI found this exquisitely researched and detailed biography of the Janus-faced writer Shirley Jackson utterly beguiling. Ruth Franklin tells the story of Jackson's life through her fiction, giving readers a thorough grounding in the Jackson canon as well as an interesting and highly readable timeline of her life. Anyone interested in the writing life or Jackson's unique fiction shouldn't hesitate to dive into this fascinating biography.
pickI can't quite decide if this is a cautionary tale to never settle for safety in place of happiness, or an inspiring biography showcasing successful perseverance in the face of misogyny and misunderstanding. Probably both. Either way, Jackson was an amazing woman and the repetition of research notes was minimal in this one. Fans of Shirley Jackson and psychological thrillers shouldn't miss it.
I have that bereft, woebegone, I-finished-the-book feeling...😟
pickThis was the best biography of an author I've ever read (which is saying something - I'm addicted to them). I started it on audio (which is also great) but ended up buying a hard copy to read as well. Now that it's done, I done know what to do with myself. Shirley Jackson was brilliant, and Ruth Franklin did her justice with a brilliant biography.
#riotgrams #samename my name isn't that common now but I'm glad I share it with such a great author. I used to hate my name as a kid, I didn't like that it made me stand out in my age group. Now I'm glad that if I hear my name called I'm 99.9% sure it must be for me
Okay, I have pure book joy that must be expressed. I read Shirley Jackson as an undergrad but her work didn't make a lasting impression (though looking back I'm not sure why). Fast forward to now. I'm listening to her biography on audio while re-reading The Haunting of Hill House and it's AMAZING. I'm going to keep going with her other work. I'm having a full-on Shirley Jackson renaissance and I can't stop grinning.
Biography of one of my favorite female authors.
pick"She kept it up until the end, sending her literary bombs unerringly to their targets, then standing back to watch them explode."
Ruth Franklin hit a home run for me with her comprehensive biography of the amazing Shirley Jackson. If you're a fan of Shirley's work, this is a must read. After reading this, I am more enamored with Shirley than I already was.
Full review: http://tinyurl.com/zx92amq
Brb gotta go read the rest of Shirley Jackson's oeuvre.
Requested that my library purchase this months ago, completely forgot about, and now get to hold it in my hands! I'll read it while wearing my @outofprint Haunting of Hill House shirt, of course.
pickRuth Franklin's wonderful biography of Shirley Jackson adds richness and depth to an already stunning collection of work. This biography makes me wonder how great her work would had become had she lived longer.
"Intermarriage was still unusual in the United States in 1940. Only a year earlier, The Atlantic Monthly ran a first-person article by an anonymous Christian woman titled "I Married a Jew.'"
Good to know that confessional journalism hasn't changed much in the last 70+ years.
