litlover12

I got this from a message board, and modified it a bit. The idea is simple: Suppose that for some reason you had to pare your library down to 25 single volumes, plus 1 series. You're allowed to read other books, but these 25 (plus 1) are the only books you're allowed to keep or to reread.

(The original meme said 20 books plus 1 series, but that would be inhuman. I think there's something in the Geneva Convention about it.)

You can put the series anywhere in your list, but mark it with an asterisk.

Here are mine . . .


( The indispensables )

1. ARTHUR CLENNAM MOOD THEME WOOHOO!!! Now everyone please cross your fingers that I don't mess up 47 times while trying to install it. I'm really, really bad at anything remotely tech-related.

2. Person of Interest in Three Acts. Snoopy as Reese and Woodstock as Finch, because why not? So cute!!

3. Sink Me! Period drama pics plus funny quotes = one fantastic blog.

4. And finally, my new article about Lily Bart in The House of Mirth. Since this piece grew out of a post I once scribbled here, thought some of you might like to see the polished-up version! Let me know if you have trouble with the link; sometimes this publication is a little difficult to access.

At my request, ever_maedhros has made a gorgeous batch of House of Mirth icons. Go check 'em out!

I don't think I've mentioned before that Lily Bart is one of my favorite heroines ever. She makes me want to shake her until her teeth rattle . . . and yet I love her so. I can't help it. She makes stupid mistakes, and yet through all of it, through the sheer brutality of her life, she has such a purity of heart. She loves luxury and ease and beautiful surroundings -- loves them too much, in fact -- but she can't make herself do wrong things, or even expedient things, to get them, and so life beats her down. A really clever woman could perhaps find a way to get those things by honorable means, but she can't even do that. She breaks my heart, but I feel like I understand her, and I love her.

The way that Lawrence yells, "Oh, LILY!" in that half-horrified, half-exasperated way at the end of the film always makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time. In any other film, with any other characters, it would be way over the top, but right there it's so fitting. It's just so . . . Lily.