This is a long book!

It really is, but I admit that I enjoyed it a lot.

I'm trying to read Justine by Lawrence Durrell for book club, but it's a bit too much for me. Very literary and lots of bullshit about the sex lives of incomprehensible women. As if that's the only thing of interest about them. I'm not sure I'm gonna finish this.

Did you watch The Durrells in Corfu? I haven't read any of his work, but I've heard enough that it seems like it would hilarious in the context of the character on the show.

I saw an episode, I think. Those books were written by Lawrence Durrell's brother, who clearly had a sense of humor. I don't think Lawrence did...

Oh, agreed. I discovered Gerald Durrell's books when I was in middle school and they were a huge influence on me. Then in high school I found out that Lawrence Durrell actually *had* published, went looking for The Alexandria Quartet, found Justine and hated it. Never tried it again, never tried the other three.

Larry's just a total tool poseur artiste on the show, which adds up, coming from his younger brother's writing.

In Gerald Durrell's book My Family and Other Animals he describes Larry as "...designed by Providence to go through life like a small blond firework, exploding ideas in other people's minds, and then curling up with catlike unctuousness and refusing to take any blame for the consequences."

My 11-year-old self had never heard of "unctuousness," but "curling up cat-like" made enough sense to me to go on with, and I looked up the word later.

I remember reading Gerald Durrell's books back in my teens and laughing over them. I tried reading one of the Alexandria Quartet (my parents had all four) but didn't get it - either I was too young or there really wasn't much of a point to it. I believe his books are still in print.

I enjoyed Addie LaRue but I was sort of mad about the ending. I stuck with the audiobook on that one and the narrator has a lovely voice. Very Addie.

New Montague Sibling book coming out tomorrow! Shipwrecks and Scandal! It's the Goblin!

I am trying to read at least a few books from the National Book Award list so I got All that She Carried and The Legend of Auntie Po (which I LOVED).

I love Auntie Po! That’s all I’ve finished reading because it’s Grading Season and my eyeballs are a bleeding.

I enjoyed All That She Carried - just the thought of something surviving the rigors of life for that long & the stories that can be told from them was amazing to me. Material culture of people who aren’t the high & the mighty just doesn’t survive often.