Anna Karenina | 
so-soA classic Russian novel. Tolstoy when he‘s out of his comfort zone is far more interesting. Not quite as wonderful and earth shaking as Lolita, but it‘s certainly well written and a fun read. The kind of book you can read over a few months next to your bed.
I just don‘t know about this y‘all. I am on part 2 and somehow still have 23 hours left. In confusion I thought to check the chapter list because how many parts can a novel have and it has EIGHT PARTS people! And I mean, the story is charming? And the characters lively and entertaining? Still…. Eight parts, man…. That‘s a lot of parts.
I have 28 hours of driving coming up, so I‘m trying Anna Karenina again, I feel like I‘ve tried it before but now I don‘t really remember why I bailed, but if I remember I‘ll be sure to quit on it again, but this time I‘ll record why on here 😆
#Two4Tuesday @TheSpineView
@TheNeverendingTBR Thanks for the tag 😘
1. Yes, I do. I have a TBR dedicated to classic 🤣
2. Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary will be next 🤟🏻
pickIt‘s not a bad book but the story got really slow and boring in a lot of chapters imo.
I really enjoyed Kitty and Levin‘s love story, probably my favorite part.
Anna‘s story was heartbreaking she made a lot of mistakes but she was still a victim to society and it got into her head so bad to a point where she had no faith or hope in anyone anymore.
Overall the book was beautifully written and talks about themes that are relevant to this day.
“my whole life, independently of anything that may happen to me, is every moment of it no longer meaningless as it was before, but has an unquestionable meaning of goodness with which I have the power to invest it.”
“Levin kissed her carefully on her smiling lips, offered his arm, and with a feeling of strange closeness led her out of the church. He could not believe it was all true, and only realized it when their surprised and timid glances met and he felt that they were already one.”
“He seized the chalk with nervous, trembling fingers, broke
it, and wrote the initial letters of the following: 'I have
nothing to forget or forgive, I never ceased to love you.”
This chalk episode and confession between Kitty and Levin might be my favorite from this book, it was very beautiful and pure.
“Not only in that room but in the whole world there existed for him nothing but Kitty and himself; and he had now acquired a great significance and importance.”
“She was frightened, shy, shamefaced, and therefore even more charming. She saw him as soon as he entered. She had been waiting for him. She was filled with joy, and that joy made her feel so confused that for a moment when, as he was approaching the hostess, he again glanced at her, Kitty herself, he, and Dolly all thought she would not be able to control herself but would burst into tears.”
“Now, when he heard that she was here, he was suddenly filled with such joy and at the same time with such fear, that it took away his breath and he could not utter what he wished to say.”
“At the very moment when this vision was about to disappear, her candid eyes fell on him. She recognized him and joyful surprise lit up her face. He could not be mistaken. There were no other eyes in the world like them. In the whole world there was only one being able to unite in itself the universe and the meaning of life for him. It was Kitty.”
Tale told again and again and again throughout history, but none as good as Tolstoy has.
My goal is to keep up with AK buddy read and finish Song of Achilles. And possibly work on Star Mother. #joyousjanuary #readathon
I‘m going in! May not come out for weeks. Check@out this card!
bailedI don‘t know if it‘s Maggie Gyllenaal or the story but I can go no further. With 25h 39m to go, I‘m throwing in the towel (for now). This is going on the #DNF pile of maybe, I‘ll come back to it. #audio #christyread #audible
Anna read and understood, but it was unpleasant for her to read, that is, to follow the reflection of other people‘s lives. She wanted too much to live herself.
I was late deciding on my #12booksof2021 so I decided to present it to you in two parts rather than 12. Here is January to June! June was the month i finished reading the whole Sandman series so I‘m listing it as 1 thing since I could never choose between all the books, I love them all far too much. @Andrew65
"if it is true that there are as many kinds of brains as there are heads then it is also true that there are as many kinds of love as there are hearts."
-Leo Tolstoy
pickI avoided this book because I thought it would be difficult. It‘s not. Tolstoy is brilliant but straightforward with his transcendent story of love, betrayal, family and social class. I wish I‘d read it sooner. ♥️
My 2022 TBR 🤟🏻🤟🏻
Only 7 books but they're massive 😂 6.299 pages total ❤
From top to bottom
1. L'orda del vento - Alain Damasio
2. A little life - Hanya Yanagihara
3. From here to eternity - James Jones
4. Anna Karenina - Lev Tolstoj
5. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke
6. Winter's Tale - Mark Helprin
7. The priory of the orange tree - Samantha Shannon
Did you read any of these? Did you like them?
pickAlmost time for my annual rereading of sad Russians to truly set off the winter chill ❤️🤓💀
so-soThis is the Little Free Library I hike up the hill to of a Wednes. It‘s the only weeknight I‘m not training for my ballet exam so it‘s like a midweek break. I really look forward to my Wednesdays & enjoy a wine & a read with my stretch after my walk. I also usually go to bed as the sun sets with a pot of tea & a book. I finally start to recover from the weekend before the most tiring part of my week. Not long now before I‘m on school summer hols.
These are so beautiful! Saw these in a bookstore in Tallinn. 😍
pickI'm halfway through this reread. Since reading it the 1st time, I‘ve gotten married & had kids, it‘s amazing how different a book can feel when your experiences change. There are so many moments that resonate with me. The Kitty/Levin arch reminds me of Persuasion & Anna‘s story is heartbreaking in new ways when you consider the standard women were held to. Beautifully written with themes that are still relevant today, I can‘t wait to keep reading!
so-soYou gotta love Anna, but the novel should have been called “Constantine Levin” bc LT seemed much more more concerned with him. Levin‘s “solution” to the problem of living seems prosaic in light of the 20th and 21st centuries. Agricultural bliss. I live in New York. It just doesn‘t ring true.
Isn't this true about all of us? We never know what's going on behind closed doors.
so-soWhy is this book called Anna Karenina and not Levin‘s Thoughts on Farming and Religion? Now I‘ve read it, with help from the audiobook and some skimming. I‘m proud of that, but Russian classics are not for me.
After binge watching the mini series The Beautiful Lie on Netflix recently (based on Tolstoy's Anna Karenina) I've become obsessed with this story. I can't stop thinking about it. I have actually never even known the story before, although aware of the book.
So I've decided to sink my teeth into the novel today. Normally I'd be out at work from sunup til after sundown but once again all of my bookings were cancelled, so another week without pay...
I am posting one book per day from my to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it. Some will be old, some will be new - don't judge me, I have a lot of books.
Day 45th
Join the fun if you want!
#tbrpile
pickMe parece maravilloso. Lamentablemente vi primero la película (90‘s) y me arrepentí . Sin duda una historia trágica y desesperante en cuanto a la relación de los celos con Ana y Vronsky. Me parecio interesante tratar la vida de la clase alta rusa de aquella época, si eres curioso puedes ir investigando datos y adentrarte en esa cultura, es un libro pesado pero vale la pena terminarlo, ligar la vida de Levin en algunos capítulos es aburrido.
“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
Started this, I hope it‘s worth the 34 hours! Have you read it? Did you enjoy it?
pickInteresting look at how we function in society and how different people choose to pursue happiness.
pickI failed to get through Anna Karenina as a teen cause it was just too long, but I love the movie so much I knew I needed to try again. This time it was a DREAM to read and I barely noticed how long it was. This penguin translation is phenomenal and I really recommend it. The prose was so beautiful and the characters‘ inner worlds and morality felt so vivid, not at all like ‘stodgy Victorian book people‘. Cant recommend highly enough
It‘s my third litsyversary today!! I can‘t believe it‘s been only 3 years if I‘m honest, Litsy has become SUCH a big part of my life. Challenges on here have helped me so much during lockdown even if I have been in a big reading slump.
Speaking of which, I‘ve been reading slowly but in the mood for something big and deep so the joe wright movie inspired me to give Anna karenina another try!
"[...] in moments of excitement Kitty was capable of forgetting herself and saying a great deal too much [...]"
That's me when I'm riled up!! ????
#currentlyreading #classicliterature #russianliterature #AnnaKarenina #leotolstoy #readharder
#LitsySpringBreak #Russia
An atmospheric novel about the tragedy of isolation.
Keira Knightley did a super job as Anna!
bailedI got halfway through this 10 plus years ago and gave up. I thought about finishing it several times over the years which is why it was still on my shelf. I think I've finally decided not to bother. Life is too short to spend that much time with a book you don't enjoy. I know the ending anyway. He really could have used a better editor in my opinion. #unpopularopinion
pickWhen I was a freshman in high school, we had a unit on debate. I can‘t recall any of the details but I remembered one thing. In order to have an opinion, one must know both sides, as many sides. Leo Tolstoy‘s way of telling a story was very satisfying for me as a reader because he weaved it through the minds of countless characters. Life isn‘t simple. Nothing can be told by the opinion of just one character. I may have come across a favorite book!
“Abandon oneself without a blush to every passion, and laugh at everything else.“
#BookSpinBingo update!
@TheAromaofBooks
I really only have 2 bingos. But I feel like I'm nearly done. Despite evidence to the contrary.
😊=good
🌟=really good
❤=excellent
Tagged is my favorite from the latest batch. And probably my overall favorite.
