littlefaerie

I love rereading my favorite books- on the adventure of finding new favorites to add to the rotation!! PNW 🏞️ INFJ ~ Christian I love languages, cultures, and fiber arts.

3483 points

0% overlap

My Taste

The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1)

Rilla of Ingleside (Anne of Green Gables, #8)

A River Enchanted (Elements of Cadence, #1)

Reading...

33%

A Venom Dark and Sweet (The Book of Tea, #2)

20%

24%

littlefaerie is interested in reading...

14h

Geisha, a Life

Mineko Iwasaki

"No woman in the three-hundred-year history of the karyukai has ever come forward in public to tell her story. We have been constrained by unwritten rules not to do so, by the robes of tradition and by the sanctity of our exclusive calling...But I feel it is time to speak out." Celebrated as the most successful geisha of her generation, Mineko Iwasaki was only five years old when she left her parents' home for the world of the geisha. For the next twenty-five years, she would live a life filled with extraordinary professional demands and rich rewards. She would learn the formal customs and language of the geisha, and study the ancient arts of Japanese dance and music. She would enchant kings and princes, captains of industry, and titans of the entertainment world, some of whom would become her dearest friends. Through great pride and determination, she would be hailed as one of the most prized geishas in Japan's history, and one of the last great practitioners of this now fading art form. In Geisha, a Life, Mineko Iwasaki tells her story, from her warm early childhood, to her intense yet privileged upbringing in the Iwasaki okiya (household), to her years as a renowned geisha, and finally, to her decision at the age of twenty-nine to retire and marry, a move that would mirror the demise of geisha culture. Mineko brings to life the beauty and wonder of Gion Kobu, a place that "existed in a world apart, a special realm whose mission and identity depended on preserving the time-honored traditions of the past." She illustrates how it coexisted within post-World War II Japan at a time when the country was undergoing its radical transformation from a post-feudal society to a modern one. "There is much mystery and misunderstanding about what it means to be a geisha. I hope this story will help explain what it is really like and also serve as a record of this unique component of Japan's cultural history," writes Mineko Iwasaki. Geisha, a Life is the first of its kind, as it delicately unfolds the fabric of a geisha's development. Told with great wisdom and sensitivity, it is a true story of beauty and heroism, and of a time and culture rarely revealed to the Western world.

littlefaerie made progress on...

The Count of Monte Cristo

Alexandre Dumas

33%

Post from the The Count of Monte Cristo forum

littlefaerie

Thoughts from 33% (page 572)

spoilers

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Post from the The Count of Monte Cristo forum

littlefaerie

Thoughts from 32% (page 565)

He was, as we have already said, perfectly well acquainted with the literature of all countries. A few words he let fall showed them that he was no stranger to the sciences, and he seemed much occupied with chemistry. Okay, this is getting a little ridiculous. Either the author is poking fun at the Count or he is going to be one of those on characters who are good at everything and it drives me INSANE. 🫠

littlefaerie commented on a post from the Pagebound Club forum

KelpieCersei

What do you do when you can feel a book slump coming?

I’ve been a bit more slow with reading recently, and haven’t really been in the mood to pick up a book, nor go to the store to buy new books.

I have only just recently came out of a year long book slump last month, and since then I have been so worried about going back into another slump. A full year without picking up a single book, it was brutal.

I was thinking of rereading my favourite series, but the problem is that I cannot reread books. I love the book with my whole heart, but I’m not interested in reading it again when I already know how it would play out.

Does anyone have tips on what they do when they’re starting to go into a slump?

littlefaerie is interested in reading...

Buddenbrooks: The Decline of a Family

Thomas Mann

A classic of modern literature: Buddenbrooks is the story of four generations of a wealthy bourgeois family in northern Germany facing the advent of modernity; in an uncertain new world, the family’s bonds and traditions begin to disintegrate. With an introduction by T. J. Reed, and translated by John E. Woods. As Mann charts the Buddenbrooks’ decline from prosperity to bankruptcy, from moral and psychic soundness to sickly piety, artistic decadence, and madness, he ushers the reader into a world of stunning vitality, pieced together from births and funerals, weddings and divorces, recipes, gossip, and earthy humor. First published in Germany in 1901, when Mann was only twenty-six, Buddenbrooks surpasses all other modern family chronicles in its immensity of scope, richness of detail, and fullness of humanity. With remarkable fidelity to the original German text, this superb translation emphasizes the magnificent scale of Mann’s achievement in this riveting, tragic novel.

littlefaerie is interested in reading...

The Dutch House

Ann Patchett

At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. The story is told by Cyril’s son Danny, as he and his older sister, the brilliantly acerbic and self-assured Maeve, are exiled from the house where they grew up by their stepmother. The two wealthy siblings are thrown back into the poverty their parents had escaped from and find that all they have to count on is one another. It is this unshakable bond between them that both saves their lives and thwarts their futures. Set over the course of five decades, The Dutch House is a dark fairy tale about two smart people who cannot overcome their past. Despite every outward sign of success, Danny and Maeve are only truly comfortable when they’re together. Throughout their lives, they return to the well-worn story of what they’ve lost with humor and rage. But when at last they’re forced to confront the people who left them behind, the relationship between an indulged brother and his ever-protective sister is finally tested.

littlefaerie is interested in reading...

Anxious People

Fredrik Backman

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and “writer of astonishing depth” (The Washington Times) comes a poignant comedy about a crime that never took place, a would-be bank robber who disappears into thin air, and eight extremely anxious strangers who find they have more in common than they ever imagined. Viewing an apartment normally doesn’t turn into a life-or-death situation, but this particular open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes everyone in the apartment hostage. As the pressure mounts, the eight strangers begin slowly opening up to one another and reveal long-hidden truths. First is Zara, a wealthy bank director who has been too busy to care about anyone else until tragedy changed her life. Now, she’s obsessed with visiting open houses to see how ordinary people live—and, perhaps, to set an old wrong to right. Then there’s Roger and Anna-Lena, an Ikea-addicted retired couple who are on a never-ending hunt for fixer-uppers to hide the fact that they don’t know how to fix their own failing marriage. Julia and Ro are a young lesbian couple and soon-to-be parents who are nervous about their chances for a successful life together since they can’t agree on anything. And there’s Estelle, an eighty-year-old woman who has lived long enough to be unimpressed by a masked bank robber waving a gun in her face. And despite the story she tells them all, Estelle hasn’t really come to the apartment to view it for her daughter, and her husband really isn’t outside parking the car. As police surround the premises and television channels broadcast the hostage situation live, the tension mounts and even deeper secrets are slowly revealed. Before long, the robber must decide which is the more terrifying prospect: going out to face the police, or staying in the apartment with this group of impossible people. Rich with Fredrik Backman’s “pitch-perfect dialogue and an unparalleled understanding of human nature” (Shelf Awareness), Anxious People’s whimsical plot serves up unforgettable insights into the human condition and a gentle reminder to be compassionate to all the anxious people we encounter every day.

littlefaerie commented on a post

emma.thinks

Edited

Thoughts from 10% (page 122) Dumas is snarky

I just have to take a moment for this quote:

'Well, so much the better for him,' said the inspector. 'When he is altogether mad, he will suffer less.' As you can see, this inspector was a man of the utmost humanity and altogether worthy of the philanthropic office with which he had been entrusted.

The snark and sarcasm in this I DEVOURED. I see you, Dumas. I didn't know your game, you have my apologies.

The readability of his writing style combined with the pure fun and sincerity injected into it is just 🤌 Other users have mentioned how gossipy the opening is, and amongst the tension it is humorous because of this style. The breaking of the fourth wall, as seen here, makes Dumas himself feel like a gossipy friend. Like we're just having a sleepover and he's a master storyteller regaling us with these dramatics.

I love this so much. I think it is the most fun I have had reading a classic, other than maybe Galileo's The Assayer (the first time I laughed out loud reading a historical text in a library 💀) I'm getting the same feeling, I'm so excited to keep going.

Edit: I unmarked it as a spoiler because I don't think it is? Please tell me if any of you think it should be changed back.

Post from the The Count of Monte Cristo forum

littlefaerie

Thoughts from 31% (page 543)

spoilers

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littlefaerie made progress on...

The Count of Monte Cristo

Alexandre Dumas

30%

littlefaerie commented on a post

LiteraryFan

Thoughts from 48% (page 190)

How cool would it be if some musician analyzed all the LOTR songs and gave them tunes???!!??

littlefaerie made progress on...

Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen

24%

littlefaerie is interested in reading...

And Now, Back to You (Heartstrings, #2)

B.K. Borison

Two competing meteorologists are forced to find common ground in this opposites attract, When Harry Met Sally inspired romance, from New York Times bestselling author B.K. Borison. Jackson Clark and Delilah Stewart have had their fair share of run-ins over the years, often ending in disaster. While Jackson thrives on routine and organization from the comfort of his radio booth, Delilah loves the spontaneity and adventure out in the field. When they’re partnered against their will to cover the snowstorm of the century, they find themselves scrambling to figure out how to work together. Eager to be taken seriously as a journalist, Delilah offers Jackson a deal. If he can help her ace this assignment, she’ll help him rediscover his long-lost fun side. With an undiscovered chemistry burning beneath their clashes, the unlikely partnership quickly tumbles into an easy and surprising friendship. But when other feelings start to enter the equation, can Jackson and Delilah withstand the storm? Or does what happens in the mountains, stay in the mountains?

littlefaerie commented on a post

RawanM

Thoughts from 5% (page 61)

I was very intimidated by it, but so far so good!! I wouldn’t say easy but enjoyable ✨ On another note, i’m quite unfamiliar with French History, so it gets very confusing when they speak of that. I am very interested tho in Napoleon’s history so if you have any recommendation to where to get proper historical information about that era, in an enjoyable way, please let me know. videos movies essay, i’d love to learn more!!

littlefaerie commented on a post

skelich

Thoughts from 21% (page 96)

Justice for gruel 😤😤 everyone is always so repulsed by it whenever I come across it in fiction, I don't know why 😭😭 if you think it's too bland just season it !!! you can make it sweet or spicy, it's so versatile!!! (obviously here they didn't have spices and her hypochondriac father may not even add honey but they're rich so it's still probably definitely made with milk instead of water, and a good quantity of cereal, aka many a student meal for me lmao) love you gruel love you porridge love you staple crop with ingredients

littlefaerie is interested in reading...