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What Members Thought
I have found my annual re-read for New Year's Day. A slim, witty, charming, and utterly delightful story of a correspondence between a bookshop in London and a single New Yorker, on the hunt for inexpensive but clean books from 1949 through 1969. Beautiful story, with the exact message one needs to hear for the dawning of a new year with new possibilities.
1/1/21
Annual re-read took two formats this year. I listened to the audio and also made my first attempt at reading the French edition without ...more
1/1/21
Annual re-read took two formats this year. I listened to the audio and also made my first attempt at reading the French edition without ...more
Read this book.
This is a collection of letters between Helene Hanff and Frank Doel (and others) at Marks & Co., a London bookseller. It was adapted into a movie in the late 80's, and it is to this day one of my mother's absolute favorites. I finally watched it in college and was totally charmed. The book exceeded every high expectation I had for it. It's sort of hard to believe it's non-fiction because it such a comical, endearing delight end to end!
I highly, highly recommend it to anyone who lo ...more
This is a collection of letters between Helene Hanff and Frank Doel (and others) at Marks & Co., a London bookseller. It was adapted into a movie in the late 80's, and it is to this day one of my mother's absolute favorites. I finally watched it in college and was totally charmed. The book exceeded every high expectation I had for it. It's sort of hard to believe it's non-fiction because it such a comical, endearing delight end to end!
I highly, highly recommend it to anyone who lo ...more
Heartbreak of a book.
A couple of things happened that caused me to be blindsided by this book.
First, I've seen bits and pieces of the film adaptation over the years and thought I was super familiar with the story.
Second, I'd had an old paperback copy laying around for ages, which apart from its' cute postal cover, I'd never really paid much attention to.
Third, when I finally decided to pick it up to read yesterday, I didn't read the back copy or even really noticed the author's name.
All of this ...more
A couple of things happened that caused me to be blindsided by this book.
First, I've seen bits and pieces of the film adaptation over the years and thought I was super familiar with the story.
Second, I'd had an old paperback copy laying around for ages, which apart from its' cute postal cover, I'd never really paid much attention to.
Third, when I finally decided to pick it up to read yesterday, I didn't read the back copy or even really noticed the author's name.
All of this ...more
I can't remember how I came across this title and now don't know why I haven't read it earlier! On the surface it is an epistolary memoir between an American writer searching for books and a British bookseller who is sending them. Their correspondence covers almost 20 years, from a tightly rationed post-war London through the crowing of the Queen, and beyond.
Helene and Frank do talk about books, but their relationship is so much more than that, life changing wouldn't be an exaggeration. (view s ...more
Helene and Frank do talk about books, but their relationship is so much more than that, life changing wouldn't be an exaggeration. (view s ...more
I stumbled across this on the shelves at the library while looking for another book. I grabbed it because it was pretty slim, and I've been on the lookout for a book under 100 pages for the Book Riot Read Harder challenge - 97 pages! w00t! (Bonus: it was also published in 1970, which could also take care of the challenge, "read a book published the decade you were born.")
I had vaguely heard of this book, but had very little idea of what it was about and deliberately tried not to read about it be ...more
I had vaguely heard of this book, but had very little idea of what it was about and deliberately tried not to read about it be ...more
A sweet and enjoyable read that celebrates book lovers, letter-writing and enduring friendships. I think it will foster a good discussion.
A throwback to the joys of "real" mail and "real" books ... a charming chronicle of correspondence ... with a sucker punch ... and a teaser or two for Austen fans (" ... 'P-and-P' arrived looking exactly as Jane ought to look, soft leather, slim[,] and impeccable.")
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This book was mentioned in a blog post about The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It absolutely captures the tone of that book. It's epistolary nonfiction, but with character development and a charming plot. Wonderful.
Highly recommended. ...more
Highly recommended. ...more
I read the play version of this text and loved it! The historical context through the letters was wonderful and I loved that these really close friendships were built over many years through letters alone. It was a great change of pace!
Jan 28, 2022
Maya
added it
its curious that a book that is simply letters written in the 1950s and 60s between a London bookseller and New York writer could be this compelling. But it is, and it's great.
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A short book of letters. Was very charming.
Feb 23, 2011
Elizabeth
marked it as to-read
Jan 02, 2012
Carmen
marked it as to-read
May 13, 2012
Deedee
rated it
did not like it
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review of another edition
Shelves:
contemporary-fiction,
did-not-finish
Sep 20, 2014
Kerry
marked it as to-read
Nov 22, 2015
Maria
marked it as to-read
Jun 28, 2017
Jamie Dornfeld
marked it as to-read
Mar 12, 2019
Malaina
added it
Apr 16, 2019
Emily Williams
marked it as to-read
Jun 05, 2019
Rosemary
marked it as to-read
Oct 19, 2019
Cas
marked it as to-read
Mar 26, 2020
Kate Mulley
marked it as to-read
