wow, phenomenal list. What did you think of Isherwood’s ‘Goodbye to Berlin’? would love to hear your thoughts. i had no idea you were so into german literature, this is exciting 😊 a big chunk of my planned 2025 reading is centered around german lit — im trying to finish out Thomas Mann, and reading Heinrich Böll for the first time (!)
I really enjoyed the Isherwood without completely loving it! Like any collection, a couple of the stories have stuck with me more than others, but I'll definitely pick up more by him in the future. And I somehow haven't seen Cabaret yet, on stage or the film version (though I loved your Nov newsletter), so I wonder if the book could've felt more exciting/urgent to me if I was drawing lines between a beloved musical and original stories/characters? huge for you to finish out Thomas Mann!! I adore Buddenbrooks and lived near Lübeck last year! & have read Mario and the Magician, but I've been waiting for Susan Bernofsky's forthcoming translation to pick up The Magic Mountain! Although I may end up going for it in German... do you have any favorites by Mann as an aspiring completionist? Love Böll--have read just And Never Said a Word, but The Clown is on my shelf!
I should checkout Isherwood then. oh WOW, I'm excited for you to be able to watch Cabaret for the first time, it's probably some of my favorite music ever out of a musical, and I think it's also one of the better artistic treatments of the Weimar period. It avoids a lot of the sentimentality that could come up with discussing the fall of Weimar, yet it's very genuinely beautiful in spite of it -- my sense is that you would like it. I'd maybe recommend starting with the movie from 1972, and if you like that i can also send you a link to an awesome stage recording from a production in the early 1990s. Ah, I just finished Buddenbrooks two days ago!!!!! Absolutely loved it, and to think that book was his DEBUT NOVEL, absolutely ridiculous. Can't believe you lived near Lübeck, very jealous... going to ask you more about that sometime. I really enjoyed Magic Mountain, I'd be interested in trying the new translation by Susan Bernofsky once that comes out. Another goal of mine is to finish 'Berlin Alexanderplatz' next year -- read a bit of it this year and was transfixed but got sidetracked.
Thst exact quote from Ghost Stories is also underlined in my copy 🥹🩷 writing many of these down for safe keeping! Plus Loved and Missed is sitting on my shelf right now, so I’ll have to read thst one stat. Would love to hear your thoughts on Lispector. I haven’t read Hour of the Star, but did read An Apprenticeship or The Book of Pleasures and LOVED it.
I may just have to reread ghost stories this winter! And you might just have to move Loved and Missed to the top of your tbr!! I have the Lispector in my bag this very moment, updates soon —have read Near to the Wild Heart by her and really really enjoyed :)
oh my god Loved & Missed, i'm still not over it. also i'm so glad to see the Poverty Creek shout-out! my parents used to live in blacksburg and the book, author, & place are all lovely
don't think I'll ever be over Loved and Missed! (& if the feelings fade, I'll just be due for a reread)-- really great to hear that you're a Poverty Creek fan too, and that your parents have a lovely history with the place & author, I might have to visit someday!
Such a great wrap-up! A lot of the classics you read are on my immediate to-read list. I am reading Anna Karenina and Middlemarch soon for my 19th century wives under pressure project. I am genuinely so excited and happy that I will be reading both SLOWLY!!!
For your final read: please read the Lispector so you can then explain it to me. I read it earlier this year and it was just such a puzzle for me. I still think about it but I do not know if I get it just yet.
Can't wait to hear what you think about Anna Karenina and Middlemarch! I think slowly is key; I read Middlemarch with a group of friends over almost three months but flew through Anna Karenina in just three weeks-- and I definitely prefer Middlemarch, but don't know if it's just because I spent more time with it! And noted re: the Lispector! I love enigmatic lit fic and have just packed it into my carry-on for reading during holiday travel :) more soon!
I write with this format so I don't have to decide on a top 3!! but since you ask, I'll answer (for now) with top 3 story collections: Ghost Pains, Dark Satellites, and Prairie, Dresses, Art, Other; top 3 classics: Middlemarch, Jane Eyre, and A Pale View of Hills (considering it a classic since Ishiguro's won the Nobel); and top 3 "nonfiction": The Observable Universe, The Years, and My Struggle #2
Hahaha sorry for asking that question! Big well done for deciding on some anyway - sneaky that you’ve made collections! I really wanna read the My Struggle next year - it’s on the yearly goal
am considering writing a newsletter in January about reading goals that also dives a bit more deeply into the stats / categories / ratings etc. of everything I've read this year (aka the wrap-up stats that Goodreads doesn't give us!) & what I want to read more of or how I want to read differently next year, etc.-- but a few at the top of my list are definitely Middlemarch, The Observable Universe, and Loved and Missed
Our fall of Anna Karenina 💕
Things We Lost in the Fire mentioned🙂↕️
I loved Rejection as well. Absolutely unhinged.
wow, phenomenal list. What did you think of Isherwood’s ‘Goodbye to Berlin’? would love to hear your thoughts. i had no idea you were so into german literature, this is exciting 😊 a big chunk of my planned 2025 reading is centered around german lit — im trying to finish out Thomas Mann, and reading Heinrich Böll for the first time (!)
I really enjoyed the Isherwood without completely loving it! Like any collection, a couple of the stories have stuck with me more than others, but I'll definitely pick up more by him in the future. And I somehow haven't seen Cabaret yet, on stage or the film version (though I loved your Nov newsletter), so I wonder if the book could've felt more exciting/urgent to me if I was drawing lines between a beloved musical and original stories/characters? huge for you to finish out Thomas Mann!! I adore Buddenbrooks and lived near Lübeck last year! & have read Mario and the Magician, but I've been waiting for Susan Bernofsky's forthcoming translation to pick up The Magic Mountain! Although I may end up going for it in German... do you have any favorites by Mann as an aspiring completionist? Love Böll--have read just And Never Said a Word, but The Clown is on my shelf!
I should checkout Isherwood then. oh WOW, I'm excited for you to be able to watch Cabaret for the first time, it's probably some of my favorite music ever out of a musical, and I think it's also one of the better artistic treatments of the Weimar period. It avoids a lot of the sentimentality that could come up with discussing the fall of Weimar, yet it's very genuinely beautiful in spite of it -- my sense is that you would like it. I'd maybe recommend starting with the movie from 1972, and if you like that i can also send you a link to an awesome stage recording from a production in the early 1990s. Ah, I just finished Buddenbrooks two days ago!!!!! Absolutely loved it, and to think that book was his DEBUT NOVEL, absolutely ridiculous. Can't believe you lived near Lübeck, very jealous... going to ask you more about that sometime. I really enjoyed Magic Mountain, I'd be interested in trying the new translation by Susan Bernofsky once that comes out. Another goal of mine is to finish 'Berlin Alexanderplatz' next year -- read a bit of it this year and was transfixed but got sidetracked.
Thst exact quote from Ghost Stories is also underlined in my copy 🥹🩷 writing many of these down for safe keeping! Plus Loved and Missed is sitting on my shelf right now, so I’ll have to read thst one stat. Would love to hear your thoughts on Lispector. I haven’t read Hour of the Star, but did read An Apprenticeship or The Book of Pleasures and LOVED it.
I may just have to reread ghost stories this winter! And you might just have to move Loved and Missed to the top of your tbr!! I have the Lispector in my bag this very moment, updates soon —have read Near to the Wild Heart by her and really really enjoyed :)
oh my god Loved & Missed, i'm still not over it. also i'm so glad to see the Poverty Creek shout-out! my parents used to live in blacksburg and the book, author, & place are all lovely
don't think I'll ever be over Loved and Missed! (& if the feelings fade, I'll just be due for a reread)-- really great to hear that you're a Poverty Creek fan too, and that your parents have a lovely history with the place & author, I might have to visit someday!
Such a great wrap-up! A lot of the classics you read are on my immediate to-read list. I am reading Anna Karenina and Middlemarch soon for my 19th century wives under pressure project. I am genuinely so excited and happy that I will be reading both SLOWLY!!!
For your final read: please read the Lispector so you can then explain it to me. I read it earlier this year and it was just such a puzzle for me. I still think about it but I do not know if I get it just yet.
Can't wait to hear what you think about Anna Karenina and Middlemarch! I think slowly is key; I read Middlemarch with a group of friends over almost three months but flew through Anna Karenina in just three weeks-- and I definitely prefer Middlemarch, but don't know if it's just because I spent more time with it! And noted re: the Lispector! I love enigmatic lit fic and have just packed it into my carry-on for reading during holiday travel :) more soon!
I loved the format of this regan!! What’s your top 3??
I write with this format so I don't have to decide on a top 3!! but since you ask, I'll answer (for now) with top 3 story collections: Ghost Pains, Dark Satellites, and Prairie, Dresses, Art, Other; top 3 classics: Middlemarch, Jane Eyre, and A Pale View of Hills (considering it a classic since Ishiguro's won the Nobel); and top 3 "nonfiction": The Observable Universe, The Years, and My Struggle #2
Oop and I wanna read The Years!!!
Hahaha sorry for asking that question! Big well done for deciding on some anyway - sneaky that you’ve made collections! I really wanna read the My Struggle next year - it’s on the yearly goal
a genuinely varied and vast reading year! any in particular stand out at the top of the list?
am considering writing a newsletter in January about reading goals that also dives a bit more deeply into the stats / categories / ratings etc. of everything I've read this year (aka the wrap-up stats that Goodreads doesn't give us!) & what I want to read more of or how I want to read differently next year, etc.-- but a few at the top of my list are definitely Middlemarch, The Observable Universe, and Loved and Missed