Welcome to Litsy!

Deft writing, full of intricately drawn characters who are flawed but loveable. But the plot falls apart at the end. Looking forward to reading more Forster.

Last school hols I came upon a book swap in a shopping centre. Score! I perused them that afternoon with a glass of wine while watching my gorgeous niece and nephew freeze at this water park in the middle of winter. Kids! No brains. I also got a complete op shop in with my niece that day after we went to see The Little Mermaid at the movies. Was great to watch a lead that looks like her. That arvo my sister and I did rock painting with her too.

This was written in 1913 and you can tell. The language is challenging, I often felt I was missing translations even during characters conversations. But overall this is a remarkable story especially for when it was written. Maurice is gay and struggling with sexuality in England when being gay was illegal. He makes mention a few times of not wanting to be like Oscar Wilde, it is often sad as he tries to find his way, but it is a great read

#14books14weeks @TheHeartlandBookFairy update (I can't remember to tag books)
I have lost track a bit about what week we are on! I have finished 4 of the books on my list though, and I feel like I can finish these by end of summer.
I am a bit on the fence of reading The Hired Man, I own it already, but the author signed a letter giving support to Rowling, I am totally turned off by her. I finally picked up Tribe of Fatherless girls last night,

#weeklyforecast
Last week of Pride so going out with a Bang with a few Gay books!
Giovanni's Room is this months #2023Reread
I have been struggling a bit with the tagged but it isn't too long and I am excited to get to Bloom, If Beal St Could Talk and In The Absence of Men.

This must have been an incredibly difficult novel to write, let alone to share.

#literature #lgbt

I read one book in March... can‘t remember the last time that happened

I‘ll just be studiously avoiding looking at the goodreads reading tracker that tells you how your challenge is going 🤪🥺

I‘m a bit perplexed that the author deemed this a happy story - it is in that there is a chance that they could live “happily ever after” but I agree with all @CarolynM ‘s points...

Thanks for buddy reading with me Carolyn - it‘s not so often a new book gets shelved for the first time, read, in this house 🤣

#bookspinbingo

Fascinating novel. As a love story it didn't really succeed for me - a case of Insta-love if ever I read one, and very difficult to believe there was any real connection between the lovers - but it worked brilliantly as a window onto early C20th society and the conformity it demanded. Poor Maurice was so confused by the conflicting ideas between his own mind and the world around him he bounced about like a leaf in a windstorm. #BookspinBingo

I want to be sympathetic to Maurice, but he makes it difficult! Anne's reaction made me smile, though🙄😆

Mrs Hall put it down to his moustache - ‘Maurice‘s moustache will be the making of him‘ a remark that was more profound than she realised.

😶 I feel exhausted on behalf of Maurice...

Getting started

Guess I‘ll circle back to the introduction then...

Another tumblr inspired purchase... looking forward to reading this one!

I read this cause it‘s a gay classic I wanted to have read, wasn‘t expecting it to become my favourite Forster. It‘s not just that it was ‘honest‘ because he‘s a fantastic writer whether he‘s writing about his experiences or not, but the poignancy, pain and optimism here just blew me away. I loved his afterword about his determination to have a happy ending even though it made the book unpublishable at the time. Ben Whishaw was a 5* narrator.

So excited to start the #cyoreadathon for the beginning of #scarathlon !! I‘m so so eager for this challenge and to start getting points. For this readathon I‘m going to set a timer and read as much as I can but not put a number of hours or pages on it specifically. Starting by finishing off this wonderful book this morning then I‘ll get spooky. @Sace @StayCurious #teamharkness +1 participation

“This one has five legs.”

A new citizen of my shelves 😊

I was not expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did! I don't know why I am surprised because the same thing happened to me when I read Howard's End and A Room With a View, but I guess I never expected a book from 1913 about homosexuals to be so open and progressive ( well maybe not by today's standards, but compared to books I've read of the era and even later, it wasn't all just alluded to as usual!). Great read from a fantastic writer

Written in 1913/14 but only published in 1971, this book is generally described as being ahead of its time for its open discussion of homosexuality & its happy ending for the main character, Maurice, a man who finally comes to understand, accept, & dare all to be true to himself. I really enjoyed it. I know there is a movie & I can only hope it‘s a good adaptation as I likely won‘t be able to resist watching it! Recommended.

“...unspeakables of the Oscar Wilde sort...”

That this was a readily understood reference in 1913/14...and “asylum work.”

(Book is fantastic by the way.)

My next read. Fascinating story behind the story. Forster wrote it in 1913-1914 but the book wasn‘t published until 1971 (after Forster‘s death in 1970). It‘s described as before its time for “its affirmation that love between men can be happy.” I‘ve seen it described as one of the author‘s best books by a number of people and am excited to read it.

Road trip!

I watched Bohemian Rhapsody last night ( all the 😍😍😍😍) and felt the need to read more about gay men. So I picked up this and James Baldwin‘s Giovanni‘s Room at B & N. Great so far! #LGBTQ

I

‘People were all around them, but with eyes that had gone intensely blue he whispered, “I love you”‘ #Iwanttoholdyourhand #heyjune

Im loving this. Such an important contribution to gay fiction.

1️⃣ I liked Maurice, actually. I really did. Also Remains of the Day.
2️⃣ Blargh. I find them generally to be ugly.
3️⃣ None of the books I like are "adaptable". I mean, look what was done to Cloud Atlas! There is talk of adapting Those Who Walk Away From Omelas, and I shudder.
4️⃣ Hi @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks ?
@JenlovesJT47 #tuesdaytidbit

1) Maurice by E. M. Forster
2) 4 - This makes me realize how old I am & how many I have lost.
3) ant
4) Waffles with vanilla yogurt
5) ✅

#Friyayintro @jesshowbooks

I read four books this month. Therefore, they are all my #FebruaryFavorites. I have improved my game since I usually read one book per month. They were all good in their own way.
#HeartsAndHardcovers @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

I am taking a stab at blogging. Please check out my review: https://toeyreishuman.com

Feedback and comments are welcome.

(Photo from my Kindle app)

Yay! It arrived just in time for the weekend

“Pain had shown him a niche behind the world‘s judgements, whither he could withdraw.”

I‘d love to find a hardcover in good condition of Maurice for the Book Cougars February read along but I‘ll likely settle for paperback #bookcougars #readalong #hardcover

Every time my eyes pass Maurice on the shelf, Space Cowboy by Steve Miller Band plays in my head: "some people call me Maurice *wolf whistle*"... That's a happy memory song for me, my dad sang it when he used to play guitar. ?
#musicaltitles #maybookflowers

I'm always a little at a loss with Forster, his writing often seems pretty but superficial and his characters so flighty and changeable that I struggle to connect. Maurice is not lacking in these issues but it is such a brave, personal, difficult novel of societal pressure, hiding, lying, self-hatred forced onto gay men that these issues are of secondary importance. If more people could live by this line we would all be happier #TacklingTheTBR

Day 14 of #riotgrams is #kissingbooks. I don't read romance outside of fanfics (and few fanfic romances at that) so these are books with kissing. And yes, there's erotica, so sue me. I'm trying here! 😊

"I am an unspeakable of the Oscar Wilde sort."

My trip to Oxford had the perfect pairing--Maurice is an eloquent depiction of a young man's internal and external difficulties in coming to terms with his homosexuality in modernizing times--so relevant to Forster's own experience. This touching work accompanied me as I walked the grounds of Oxford's most famous (homosexual) literary alumnus--Oscar Wilde himself! Nerd moment ♡ #booksaroundtheworld

Fellow Littens, check this out! This is the Szabó Ervin Central Library in Budapest, Hungary. Built in the 1890's, this palace area is still open and filled with students studying all hours of the day (also open for visitors!). It's one of the most beautiful libraries I have ever stepped foot in--what I would give to study in a beauty like this! I wish the pictures didn't wash out the chandeliers, but you get it ;) #booksaroundtheworld

A variety for #readjanuary #titlewithapropername photo day.
The dilemma was which title to post this under!

You confuse what's important with what's impressive.

"But books meant so much for him he forgot that they were a bewilderment to others."