library acquisition: beware of pity by stefan zweig

It goes without saying that our libraries are vitally essential to our communities and existence- so I'll save that speech, and lament that my library only gives me SIX checkouts per month! 

I use one of them for access to Hallmark channel app, and I ration the others like wartime sugar. This month I did checkout Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig. This book came across my radar while I was browsing the New York Review of Books website. It is out of stock there, so I searched my library (my first stop).  I will just add this to my currently reading pile!

Book Synopsis:

"Stefan Zweig's brilliant novel, Beware of Pity, is an original and powerful work."-The New York Times

The great Austrian writer Stefan Zweig was a master anatomist of the deceitful heart, and Beware of Pity, the only novel he published during his lifetime, uncovers the seed of selfishness within even the finest of feelings. Beware of Pity is an almost unbearably tense and powerful tale of unrequited love and the danger of pity.

In 1913, Hofmiller, an Austro-Hungarian cavalry officer stationed at the edge of the empire, is invited to a party at the home of a rich local landowner, a world away from the dreary routine of the barracks. The surroundings are glamorous, wine flows freely, and the exhilarated young Hofmiller asks his host's lovely daughter for a dance, only to discover that sickness has left her painfully crippled. It is a minor blunder that will destroy his life, as pity and guilt gradually implicate him in a well-meaning but tragically wrongheaded plot to restore the unhappy invalid to health.

Stefan Zweig's only novel is a devastating depiction of the torment of the betrayal of both honour and love, realized against the background of the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

source: speech repository

Stefan Zweig

This author had a much too short life and literary career, but I am fascinated by this novel's premise and this author's life and work. Read about him here. 

poetry pause: the quiet life:: alexander pope

 

stock photo

The Quiet Life

Happy the man, whose wish and

care

A few paternal acres bound,

Content to breathe his native air 

In his own ground.

Whose herds with milk, whose fields with

bread,

Whose flocks supply him with attire;

Whose trees in summer yield him 

shade,

   In winter, fire.

Blest, who can unconcern'dly find

Hours, days, and years, slide soft

away

In health of body, peace of mind,

Quiet by day.

Sound sleep by night; study and ease

Together mix'd; sweet recreation,

And innocence, which most does 

please

With meditation.

Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;

Thus lamented let me die;

Steal from the world, and not a stone

Tell where I lie.

Alexander Pope (1688-1744)

a stack of books, a cup of pour over (light roast) and a changing bedtime routine with reading

what i'm reading physically

Listen, it's no secret. I love books. I love reading. I love ereaders, hardbacks, paperbacks, new books, and old books. I don't let the algorithm tell me what to do. I don't need to niche down what type of reader I am.

I don't read for show, for numbers, for profit, or to impress anyone. I don't keep up with the cool kids, nor do I have an opinion about the bookish community.

It's high time we focus on what type of readers we each individually are and reserve judgment and criticism for what other people are doing.

With that in mind, let me talk about what I have been doing at night...

Nighttime reading ritual

I stack up books and ereaders on my night table, make a hot cup of decaf coffee, and read and sift through anywhere from 6-12 titles each night. 

My anxiety has been high due to some medical family issues, so my ability to sit with one novel has been difficult, and I don't believe in shoulds and ought to, so when one title grabs my attention and heart, I let that choice carry me.

Right now I am reading and sifting through the titles above including:

- Boredom by Alberto Moravia

- Emma by Jane Austen

- An Unexpected Cowboy by Stacey Shannon (been reading this short romance for two weeks, maybe I should give up on lighter reads for now?)

- Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata

organic light roast at home

Early morning pour overs always win over my Nespresso pods. Even though I love the convenience of them, I am really missing the 15-20 minute meditative time investment in my morning routine. While the days have been slower, I have been focused on accomplishing this simple act of calming self-care.

I haven't bought a single book or ebook from Amazon since the inauguration, and the Kobo store is soooo expensive and nowhere near as user friendly, but I won't let it stop me in my pursuit of digital downloading. I have been getting on 6 month waitlist at my local library which has been exquisitely painful. 

I have my eye on a few titles, but I wait until the list reaches 3-5 until I purchase them. I have enjoyed not shopping at Amazon, it has made me more intentional with my book purchases, and honestly I am skipping past, "This video is sponsored by Skillshare, this jewelry company, this light company, this this or that that." I'm working to source my books from used online sites, and I love it.

Wishing you a wonderful, coffee-filled, book reading weekend ahead.

Happy reading ☕️