Welcome to Litsy!

As one of the oldest vampire fictions, this novella predates Dracula! Hugely gothic, with a picturesque and isolated setting, Carmilla describes a surprisingly sapphic central relationship. Though there are precious few frightful scenes, they lit up my imagination like a cat‘s eye in the dark. Not a mystery, as any modern reader will understand what‘s happening from the start, so just come for the fun. (I read this aloud, and we had so much fun.)

A #Victober surprise! I picked this up after reading a few of its lines on the Welsh countryside- ah, the gorse and heather. Its nature imagery is luscious, and the land is truly the heart and soul of the novel.

The simple religious and romantic plots are enriched by the care taken in developing the full family dynamics of the Owens of Garthowen. A gentle story that weighs up thoughtful questions about duty, longing, and our faith in one another.

For several years now I've meant to join in for #Victober (which started out on booktube). This year I managed to squeeze in the group read and enjoyed it! These are stories of dread, menace, and the quotidian terror of patriarchy. As a collection of stories, some are simply better than others. Yet I think anyone who's read Gaskell before and knows of the ways in which she can pull a reader in will find lots to think about and take pleasure in.

I read this one long time ago so this re-read was like the first time. This novel can be annoying and controversial in the treatment/position of women in that era; religion; and the cheesy romance we see. But maybe I love it because of that, a general overview of the era. Jane was different, trying to be genuine, independent even in that historical circumstance. Still she lived in the era, so you will see those traces. I still loved it 5⭐️

Dropping my usual TBR for Booktube‘s #Victober! It‘s my fav month, and my Victorian October read last year, The Woman in White, was a highlight of 2020.

We‘ll see how many I get to; most count for multiple prompts. For ‘Popular‘, I wanted to read a book more popular then than now and thought Anne Brontë‘s book fit the bill. I learned Charlotte stopped its later reprinting! For the bonus “read aloud” challenge, I‘ll read Carmilla to my mom ?

Beautiful writing, family life, theology and a bit of humor- I am enjoying this representation for #Victober.

For #Victober I‘ve begun reading The Woman in White, a mystery novel by Englishman Wilkie Collins, published in 1859.

I haven‘t read a book written before 1900 nor one over 600 pages in a couple of years, so I figured I‘d take the opportunity to vary my reading diet.

It‘s been an engaging and easy read thus far, sexism and ableism aside. Reading a “sensation” mystery has been perfect for my otherwise totally unspooky October! 🌙☁️🕯

I am irked by how I can‘t edit things in instagram and display them here anymore...
Anyway, this juvenilia work from Charlotte Bronte was weird and mostly meh—lots of gore and magic deus ex machina with the Duke of Wellington playing the part of Superman...had a very #fanfiction feel.
...but it works for #victober and #octreadsbingo so I‘m not complaining! Lol

#booktube #bookstagram #gothic #juvenilia

My first Thackeray… and now I‘m willing to try others. What an amusing cast of greedy, foolish characters! This satirical classic is engaging in #audiobook format, read by Jane Lapotaire. #Victober