Welcome to Litsy!

Stevens, the long-serving butler of an English country house, is given an unexpected #holiday. As he takes a trip through beautiful South-West England, and further away from the house and his duties, he begins to reflect on his life and the class and culture of a changing Britain.

The writing is just gorgeous and I‘m already hooked - I think I‘m going to love it. #movember @Cinfhen

I bought the 1001 Books (and the app) two years ago. I keep that bookmark in it as a reminder lol. My efforts to keep up have been fruitless 😜. Sometimes I feel like giving up! Especially since so many are chunksters and that the app says I need to read 4/month from the list 🤪. This Ishiguro, fortunately, is just 245 pages. Starting it tonight. #1001Books

There's somewhat a likeness to Kerouac's Sal in Stevens. He's lovely and although he's the narrator + protagonist you get the impression that it's not about him at all. How unremarkable + unselfabsorbed his character is with bouts of uncertainty and the feeling of being out of your depth or comfort. Around those of a wealthier class or foreign birth one can feel so inadequate, as if needing education in communication and banter to serve them.

I listened to this entire #audiobook over the weekend. The writing is descriptive and beautiful, making it easy to visualize the events. I appreciated the message of the story and how it was shared with the reader between the lines of what was actually said by the narrator. However, I like a story with more of a plot, and I‘m not sure this book will stick with me over time.

#1001books #Reading1001 #TBRTakedown November 2019

#BookReport
Of 4 books in progress last weekend, I finished 3 as well as 2 more.

#CurrentlyReading #WeeklyForecast
📖 Continuing my long read of Sauron Defeated with #FellowshipofTolkien
📖 Started I, Robot
🎧 Started The Remains of the Day yesterday evening and may finish today depending on how well I can multitask

Upcoming
🎧 Up next is In Cold Blood for #ReadColdBlood and I also have the ebook available
📖 The Darkdeep from my class library

Couldn't see the font I was sobbing so hard.

Beautifully written and incredibly sad and dark... the story of an aging English Butler remembering and re-evaluating his life longs work in post-WWII England. The narration on the audio was perfect and embodies the character truly.

Week 31: A book from Emma Watson's book club
Reading: The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

A subtle yet profoundly evocative tale of reminiscence along with the melancholic unreliability of memory. While understated in its writing style, Ishiguro still manages to make mundane characters doing mundane things look and feel so endearing and human that you are left with a smile on your face and a tear or two

Book haul today for $17 benefitting Planned parenthood.

#7days7covers #covercrush Day 6
#Folio

Wow. This book's got *layers*. It's very worthwhile to push through the initial slog of Steven's musings about what makes a great butler (and it's actually all necessary to understanding him later). You get to know him by what he doesn't say as much as anything else. Really masterful writing. Plus I've got a soft spot for some stuffy style British prose. I just loved it.
I kind of want to just turn around and read it again.

Happy #wondrouswednesday ☀️ Thanks for the tag, @DaveGreen7777

1) The Remains of the Day 📚
2) Plenty! The Great Gatsby is the one I've reread more than any other.
3) There are always more books to read!
4) The Edwardian Lady. This was a biography of illustrator Edith Holden, whose diary from 1906 was published in the late seventies. Wonderfully done - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5) I tag @Mrbook and @brit91 😊

Unpopular here on Litsy but: I liked this one. Some parts I really loved. Yeah, what Stevens says about being a great butler is redundant but it helped me to remember where I was because I had some big pauses in listening.

In my memory the conflicts where portrayed sharper in the film. I think I like that better than his “My heart broke.” in the book. But the book shows more of his personality and his attitude. That I like better than the film.

Hey-hoo, let‘s go‼️
My un-downloadable, only stream-able audiobook works on the balcony.

Which means that my WiFi 📶 reaches out there smoothly.
Happy me‼️😃🎧

Still like it although I‘m amused that the butler‘s trip doesn‘t seem to be the centre of the plot.

I like his professional approach, his professional conduct and his job interpretation very much. And as I said Gert Heidenreich reads it brilliantly.

But, you know what❓When I came to Stevens‘ father and his fall in the garden, it rang a bell to me.
I keep thinking if I might have seen the film already.
If so, what am I doing here❓A re-read❓😉

I saw many mixed opinions on Litsy but so far I don‘t share them.

Of course you need to get involved with Stevens and his attitudes – but without being really able to judge them I think they reflect the spirit of that time and in that part of the British society well. If they don‘t, they are brilliantly thought out; to me the butler is authentic.

I like that his views reflect how narrow/focused his life has been so far. He is a real appointee.

Having the exceptional situation of listening to two audiobooks.
This one always answers with an error message when downloading so I decided it‘s the audiobook to listen to at home – while cooking or eating or before sleeping – because I need to stream it.

I‘m looking forward to the story since it‘s one of the titles that rings a bell without knowing anything about the plot. (Didn‘t know it‘s Nobel prized.)

My second book by Kazuo Ishiguro and while I didn't get into Never Let Me Go this one here was alright. I guess all in all Ishiguro isn't the writer for me but I'm glad I read it anyway.

I found it difficult to rate this book. On the one hand the writing is very good. On the other it‘s kind of redundant, which makes it boring at times.
There‘s too much about what it takes to be a great butler. However, some discussion about this is necessary since the story is about a butler. It‘s a very sad story about a man who reflects back and realizes how much he missed out on by trying to please someone other than himself.

Well. I'm not quite sure I get the point. Nothing ever happens. The narrator is (to me) exceptionally unlikable. If the point of this story is to make the most of what life you have left, not ensnared by the past, it sure took a long time to get there. And to think, someone read this book and thought, "hey, this would make a great film!" I'm not quite sure why. I certainly will not be checking out this book to screen adaptation.

A rare Saturday with no work has given me a beautiful afternoon of porch reading time. It's quite warm today, but a strong breeze has made it comfortable. 🌻🌻🌻
#selfiesaturday #summerbreeze

I'm almost done with this book, thankfully. It has been a snooze fest. I've come far enough that I need to see it through. 💤
#notmything #isitoveryet

Waiting for my car to pass its emissions inspection... I want to read, but I have a hard time focusing with a TV on in the room. Do people really watch the TVs that are often in waiting rooms?

Fingers crossed that I will like this better than Never Let Me Go. 🤞

Eh, it didn‘t do it for me. The writing is superb, but the character was so unlikable , annoying even.

Ishiguro‘s prose is phenomenal and the twist of the previous Lord of Darlington Hall being involved in political scandals was enticing, I just could not sympathize for neither Mr. Stevens and his unrequited love for Miss Kenton nor his dedication to the profession of being a butler. I wanted more of the unrequited love story and was slightly disappointed.

Beautiful, haunting and thought-provoking. A gorgeous read.

Halfway through and it doesn‘t do anything for me. Pity because I only hear praise for it. 😕I think I will continue to finish this book , but I might just admit that Kazuo Ishiguro may not be my author after all. Considering how depressed I was after “ Never Let me Go” and bored to distraction by his short stories....

#AnglophileApril

#letMeLoveYou

While he couldn‘t communicate it, this was his heart.

‘Fox 8‘ 4 ⭐️
‘Barrel Fever‘ 4 ⭐️
‘Hope Never Dies‘ 2 1/2 ⭐️
‘Notes on a Nervous Planet‘ 4 ⭐️
‘The Remains of the Day‘ 5 ⭐️
‘The Book of Joy‘ 4 ⭐️

#MarchWrapUp #WrapUp

#quotsymar19 #cause

A proper English butler, Mr Stevens, at one time achieved the highest ranks in his field, but at what cost? Over the course of a driving trip, Stevens reflects on his life and career as the reader discovers a man who completely sublimated human feeling to an unwavering standard of professional duty. Ishiguro is a masterful story teller who allows us to understand more than what we are told by our narrator. An incredibly moving novel.

We‘re finishing Sunday out like this.... 🐶📖❤️

A quick run to Treasure Mart earlier this week looking for something else and came home with book treasures and a sturdy bookshelf!

So unbelievably good. I loved the slow unraveling of Mr Stevens‘ perception of his past.

5 ⭐️. Beautiful writing. #mountTBR #manbookerchallenge19

Migraine today, so I‘m listening to this. It came in my library holds last night, and says it has 15 people waiting. No pressure, though. 🤷‍♀️#bookerprizechallenge

Katzen und Lesezeichen...?
Ich fand das Buch bei Thalia für 3,99€ und da mir "alles was wir geben mussten" vom Autor soo gut gefiel, musste es einfach mit!
Kennt ihr es bereits? Mögt ihr die Bücher von Ishiguro?
Kommt gut in die neue Woche!

Loved this book! #closereadspodcast

This is an absolute gem of a book, I devoured it in a few days. Fans of Downton Abbey will love it. Travel back in time to see life through the eyes of a butler in a grand house between the first and second world wars.

I have read a number of his books, with my favourite being Remains of the Day (the film had Hugh Grant, Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson and Christopher Reeve). I found this in my Twitter feed from The Royal Family.

Ishiguro's prose flowed fantastically and what at first look seemed like a sentimental memoir of a butler became so much more. It became a story of what was written between the lines, a story of loss, regret and life.

Read this along with the Close Reads Podcast. “The evening‘s the best part of the day.”

#attheendoftheday #musicalnewyear @vivastory @Cinfhen

And with that I'm done with the #litsyclassics A-Z challenge! All books I've never read before (and quite a few I'll never read again). Really enjoyed this challenge, and looking forward to some more modern reading next year! Thanks @Sarah83 for organizing! Tagged book is my favorite on this list.

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' "Sea air does you a lot of good."' - Pg 253