Sad News about JanetinLondon

Folks from the 2011 challenge will remember Janet Katz, also known as JanetinLondon, and her struggle with cancer, we received news from her family that Janet took a turn for he worse and died January 4th. Below the message from her family posted at the end of her last thread from the 2011 group.

Janet's family would like everyone to know that after a sudden change in her condition, Janet died on 4th January 2012. We would like to thank all her friends on Library Thing for their conversations and support. Janet used her reading to fight against her illness and her interactions and friendships with you were very important to her both personally and for her continuing engagement, curiosity and liveliness of mind.

If, in memory of Janet, you would like to give to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Unit in which she was treated over the three years of her illness, please go to: www.justgiving.com/JanetKatz

Thank you all,
Rich, Kate and Amy

We'll miss her and her love of books here. Please feel free to leave a message for the family here and I'll try to let her family know about this thread. Here's a link to her last thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/127568#3178487

I never knew Janet but it seems she was well-loved around librarything and the 75 books challenge thread. I wish her family all the best and my thoughts and prayers are with you at this time. God Bless.

I have already left a message on her last thread and on mine. I will miss her horribly. Best wishes, thoughts and prayers to her family and friends.

I did not know her well.. lurked on her thread at times and noticed her posts, but
I want to extend my sympathy to her family for their loss.

I'm so sad to hear about the passing of a fellow reader and friend on LibraryThing. Janet added so much life and inspiration to this group. She will be sorely missed. My heart is with her family in their great loss.

Lovely lady who will be sorely missed. Heartfelt condolences to her loved ones and thank you to them also for taking the trouble to share their grief with us.

I only knew Janet briefly as I was new to this sight last year, but she seemed like a friendly person and I'm sure she will be greatly missed. My heart is with her family during this difficult time.

It's so sad to hear we lost one of our own. Rest in peace Janet.

I am so sorry to hear this news. I always followed Janet's thread--she was witty and brave and appreciated her home and family so. My sympathies for your loss.

I'm so, so saddened by this news. Janet is one of the members of this group that I'd really hoped to meet in person when I finally got myself back to London later in the year, to sit and chat and laugh about books and writers. Her comments were so intelligent and insightful; her humor and sense of perspective contagious. The only way I understood what she was battling was the length of her hospital stays and occasional frustration with not being able to read as much as she wanted or what she wanted, and about not being home with her family. I'll miss her contributions and cyber-friendship tremendously.

I just woke up to find out this news and am very very sad. Heather, Genny, Luci and I had lunch with Janet last year at the LT London meet-up and I am so glad I did get the chance to meet her in real life. She was just like she is on here. She was smart, brave, and very funny, even when she was telling us all about her illness and recovery. She was also still frail and very determined to get well - getting to the cafe over the road from the hospital almost exhausted her and you could see tremendous willpower at work. I will really miss her presence on here.

#10 Suz, I'm so sorry you won't get to meet her when you go to London this year.

I'm also sad to hear this news. I met Janet in London with Cushla, Luci and Genny for some brunch last year and she was fantastic, so brave and still very funny even when she was telling us about her illness and its treatment. I also remember how good she was at drawing me into the conversation when I was feeling nervous. She'd come straight over from the hospital and was very tired but that didn't stop her thinking about other people.

I'm sad I won't get to see her again and will miss her comments on LT but I know that can't compare to the loss her family feels at the moment. Thank you for letting us know - we will be thinking of you.

I've seen her about the threads and had a short contact with her a year ago. Her daughter was looking at US schools with good soccer programs and asked for advice. And even though I could only nudge her in the right direction (as I never played for university), I hoped it helped. She was very nice and very sweet for asking (essentially) a stranger to help her daughter.

Her family will be in my thoughts.

Here's a picture of the London meet-up lunch with Janet, which Cushla and Heather have mentioned. Janet is on the right.



I too was so very sad to hear the news - along with others I was becoming fearful that something had happened as we hadn't heard from her at all since Boxing Day. I have appreciated her comments and the discussions on her thread so much - always insightful and intelligent, about books, about British and American society, about religion and politics... It was wonderful to be able to meet her last May in London, and to witness the determination, inner strength and humour in person which we have all experienced from her online presence.

I received as a Secret Santa gift a book from my wishlist - God's Philosophers - which I'd wishlisted because of Janet's fascinating discussion of reading this, in January last year. I will be thinking of her, and going back to her comments, when I come to read this.

My thoughts too go out to her family.

I'm so sad I hardly know what to write. Janet and I had just embarked on reading Montaigne's essays together, one a week, and when she did not promptly post on the Saturday I began to worry. We were also were planning to read Infinite Jest with Donna..... Reading the Aeneid with Janet was one of the best reading experiences I've had in recent years. She wasn't just smart, she was a careful, rigorous reader and had a gift for setting a person (me, say) straight with consummate tact. Janet almost never complained about her situation, except to lightly make fun of disappointments - she extended herself sympathetically to anyone with a loss or a setback. Like Suz I entertained fantasies of meeting her in London someday. I am going to miss her a great great deal. My most heartfelt sympathies to Janet's family, her girls and husband. Thank you for contacting us and including us.

Thanks Jim for the thread, and Genny for the photo of yr. meet-up.

Oh, how very, very sad. Janet and I exchanged notes, cards and posts. She was indeed a very courageous lovely lady!

Thanks for letting us know of her passing Jim.

I had hoped against hope that this would not be so. Janet gave herself to us here generously and warmly, wisely and wittily. We have missed her already and join her family in mourning. I wish that I could have told her how I bought The Cairo Trilogy because of her reading and reporting and how much I was looking forward to what she made of Infinite Jest. I wish that I could have made clear to her how much I appreciated her.
Thank you, Jim and Genny, for the thread and the picture.
My great sympathy to Rich, Kate, and Amy.

Thank you to Janets family for knowing how much her presence on LT meant to us, and for sharing the sad sad news of her death. Thank you also for the opportunity to donate in her name.
From Megan

I'm very saddened by the news. I didn't know Janet well, and did not know she was fighting cancer. I do know she was a very kind person and her comments were always appreciated. I had started participating in the reading of Montaigne essays and am sorry I dropped out early and missed her keen insights.

All my sympathy to her family and friends.

I am sitting here crying as I read this news. Janet and I were often up in the middle of my night together - it was 6 hours later in London - and would often joke about painting the IV poles or some such nonsense. I am deeply saddened by her loss, both for us here on LT but especially for her family.

We miss you, Janet.

I only knew Janet in passing, but I did know she was a inspiration to all and will be greatly missed. My condolences to her family.

I knew Janet only slightly, but I am so very sorry to learn of her passing. She will be greatly missed. My condolences to her family and friends.

I am so sad to hear the news of Janet's passing. My prayers go out to Rich, Kate, Amy, and all of Janet's family and friends.

How very sad to read this. Condolences to Janet's family and friends. We've lost a bright spark here at LT.

I did not discover Janet's thread until several months into 2011, but since then I've appreciated her thoughtfulness about books and about people. Her presence in a conversation marked its quality. I worried when she did not reappear in 2012 because she'd been conscientious about reporting absences. I'm so sorry and sad to hear of her death. Thanks to Janet's family for including LibraryThing during what must be a difficult time.

I'm deeply saddened to learn of Janet's death, and that we weren't able to meet in London. We had spoken and made plans to meet, but she was hospitalized during my visit in 2010, and wasn't feeling well enough for a visit last year. She was a valuable member of LibraryThing, a wonderful person to chat with about books, and I'm proud to have made her friendship during the brief time I knew her.

We shared many books (102), and I plan to read several of these books (maybe one every month or two), in honor of her, and to keep her alive in my heart and mind. I would propose dedicating a unique thread to her memory, where anyone who wants to read a book from Janet's library can post reviews or comments there, if the rest of you think it's a good and appropriate idea.

>26 kidzdoc: I think that's a wonderful idea for a tribute.

Darryl, I think that's a wonderful idea and a great way to keep this group's memories of Janet alive.

A very very very good idea Darryl. Briliant!

I also think that is a wonderful way to remember Janet. I have exactly ONE book on my wish list: The Worst Journey in the World... a book on Arctic exploration recommended by Janet. I plan to read it soon and experience the journey through Janet's enthusiasm for the book.

We were also going to read Infinite Jest together. There has been some talk on that thread about dedicating our group read to Janet.

Zoe, Pat, Lucy and Donna: Thanks for your supportive comments. I've just created a JanetinLondon memorial thread.

I posted on Janet's thread but would just add that I will miss Janet's intelligent and and often funny comments about books and life.

>26 kidzdoc: Great idea Darryl.

How thoughtful and generous of Janet's family to notify us of her passing. My heart-felt condolences to them on their loss. Janet and I were only casually "acquainted" on LT, but I will be dedicating my next book, Great Expectations, to her memory. It is one of the books our libraries have in common, and one that she rated very highly. I hope I will enjoy it as much as she did.

I'm saddened to learn of Janet's death. My sympathies to her family and friends.

I am so sorry to find out about the death of a lovely lady who added so much to LibraryThing, but a person with whom I was not familiar. From what others write, it seems that Janet wholeheartedly gave of her knowledge and friendship repeatedly to other LibraryThing members.

Condolences to Janet's family. Rest in peace, Janet.

Did not know Janet very well although I have read many of her interesting posts and lurked on her thread. Very sad news.

Darryl - your idea is such a nice one - a way to keep her in our minds while we read.

I miss Janet and her posts. She was such a thoughtful, intelligent reader and commenter. We were so fortunate here to be able to share her wonderful spirit. My heart goes out to her family and friends.

Oh, I am so sorry to hear that awful news. I hope the grief of her family and friends can be eased by knowing that so many of us share it.

I already posted on Janet's thread, but I do want to say again how sorry I am, and extend my condolences to Janet's family. She was a valuable member of our LT community, and I will miss her thoughtful and intelligent posts. It was very kind of the family to inform us here at LT.

I like Darryl's suggestion about reading a volume listed in Janet's library. I just finished one of the books on her list -- Dixie City Jam by James Lee Burke (which she didn't like and I did, but that's OK). There are several other shared titles that are high on my TBR pile, and I think I'll nudge them higher.

My condolences to Janet's family. It was nice to get a glimpse of her through LT. I will be holding her family in the Light as they grieve for their loss.

Not being a member of this group, I only came across Janet halfway through last year when I tagged along with the War and Peace group read. I really enjoyed reading her comments on that book, which were far more interesting and insightful than I could ever have come up with, and started following her thread as a result. I'm very sad to read this news. I knew she'd had health problems, but I didn't know the nature or severity of them. I admire the way she stayed so strong and positive under those circumstances (and read such challenging books). My condolences to her family.

I am so saddened to hear of Janet's death. We had occasional conversations, and I respected her opinions, intellect and positive attitude. I enjoyed hearing about her family, and I know they are deeply grieving. My thoughts are with them, and I send my heart-felt condolences.

Hi everyone! I realise this is a hugely old thread to be reviving (and in fact I'm not even sure if this is the way to do it) but I'm Janet's daughter and I've just started a blog/project where I'll be reading through some of the books she reviewed here on LT. I'm not sure how many of you are still around, or if people would be interested, but I'll be blogging at www.krw02500.wordpress.com in case anyone would like to follow along! Thank you all for your kind words in this thread and elsewhere, they have been much appreciated.

All best wishes,
Kate

Hi Kate, that sounds like a lovely way of remembering your mum and I'm very interested.

>43 KateinHirson: Hi Kate. I agree with elkiedee that that's a lovely way of remembering your mum and I will also be following your blog. Thank you for letting us know about your project.

Hi Kate, echoing elkiedee and souloftherose - what a lovely idea. I'll hope to follow your blog too.

By the way, the three of us who've replied so far (and a few others) all managed to meet up with your mum at a gathering of LT friends in London - the first of many such meetups as it happens, and I always think of Janet when we manage to get together to talk and swap books.

Hi Kate,

It was so nice to wake up this morning and see this thread pop up.I'm about to sit down with a coffee to read your blog. What a cool idea! I was one of the others who met Janet when I came over to London from Switzerland for a trip - I too still think of her when I'm on here.

Oh, what a wonderful surprise to see this thread pop up. I think that is a great idea. I'll be following your blog also.

Me, too.

I'll be another. I wish we had met. I certainly felt like our minds and hearts met here on LT.

And me too. Still got this thread starred (and the other one as well), and now I bookmarked your blog.

Just thought of Janet yesterday when I saw a new book by Jenny Erpenbeck in an airport bookstore, a German author Janet brought to us.