Book a Week 2015 - BW25: Summer is here!

[Jane in NC]

I think they were referencing Fanny Hill by John Cleland.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanny_Hill

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cleland

Violet Crown mentioned Cleland and I suggested that perhaps our gentle readers needed a warning. Or a plain brown wrapper.

[Stacia]

I guess between Cleland & the Thug Cookbook, we'll need an "R" rating on the thread this week. :lol:

[redsquirrel]

Sophisticated? I assume you mean definition 2: having worldly knowledge or experience. 😉 I sppose one can be vulgar and sophisticated at the same time.

 

Or as Professor Higgins would say,"The French don't care what they do, as long as they pronounce it correctly."

 

I am living proof of such

[Kareni]

Some fun entertainment for Chaucer fans (and others) from NPR ~

 

Longest Thou To Go On Summer Pilgrimage? Chaucer Hath Advice

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit!  Who knew?  Even the pictures on the Fanny Hill wikipedia entry are rather risque!

 

How fun.  I think I have to get ahold of this book somehow, purely out of historical interest.  ;)  After all, the library is asking us to read a banned book, right? And this definitely qualifies!  ;)  :001_tt2:  :D

[aggieamy]

Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit!  Who knew?  Even the pictures on the Fanny Hill wikipedia entry are rather risque!

 

How fun.  I think I have to get ahold of this book somehow, purely out of historical interest.  ;)  After all, the library is asking us to read a banned book, right? And this definitely qualifies!  ;)  :001_tt2:  :D

 

Based on this review my little perverted self had to go to wikipedia and see what the fuss was all about.   :laugh:

[aggieamy]

:blushing:

 

Whoa.  

 

That was a bit much for this puritan.

 

:blink:

 

It must have been the 50 Shades of it's day.  

[Kareni]

I recently finished Hero by Samantha Young (which is not a book for puritans!).  I enjoyed it.  And, no, the fact that I read this has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the theme of the summer reading program is Heroes!

 

"Alexa Holland’s father was her hero—until her shocking discovery that her mother and she weren’t his only family. Ever since, Alexa has worked to turn her life in a different direction and forge her own identity outside of his terrible secrets. But when she meets a man who’s as damaged by her father’s mistakes as she is, Alexa must help him.

Caine Carraway wants nothing to do with Alexa’s efforts at redemption, but it’s not so easy to push her away. Determined to make her hate him, he brings her to the edge of her patience and waits for her to walk away. But his actions only draw them together and, despite the odds, they begin an intense and explosive affair.

Only Caine knows he can never be the white knight that Alexa has always longed for. And when they’re on the precipice of danger, he finds he’ll do anything to protect either one of them from being hurt again...."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[mumto2]

Ok, we have now established why the British consider fanny to be an impolite word. Refers to lower female private parts so no one needs to google. I eventually learned that bum was a better choice and knew why (embarrassed friend explained) but always wondered why a somewhat polite phrase in the US was totally rude in the Uk. Also knew of the book which just confused me, didn't know what it was about obviously.

[Violet Crown]

Now I feel as if I'd corrupted the morals of the youth of Athens. And lest I make the situation worse, the fact is Cleland is far milder than the books Rousseau was talking about, none of which as far as I know were ever reprinted but are sometimes available in university libraries. I took a class on this subgenre of English and French literature once (our prof had to photocopy the originals; I wonder what the folks at Kinko's thought), and am well-assured that 50 Shades is quite derivative.

 

A literary connection; in Henry James' The Awkward Age, from my list of last year, the coming-of-age heroine is known to have read a French novel of her mother's that came in a plain wrapper: while her mother's social circle applaud the girl's emancipated upbringing, she discovers in the end [spoiler ALERT!] that the old Victorian standards nevertheless hold, and she has rendered herself unmarriageable even among the most "modern" of her mother's set.

 

I'm glad that when I read Jean Genet's Funeral Rites a year or so ago, nobody Googled that. But if you do, I have a whole list of vulgar lit for anybody who's interested. Rabelais, Boccaccio, Bataille...

 

ETA: I just read the Wikipedia article on The Awkward Age. What a subliterate mess. It reads like a composition by a high schooler who had never read James before. More reasons not to depend on the internet.

[Onceuponatime]

Well Violet Crown, we shall have to call you Madame Librarian." She advocates dirty books, like Chaucer, Rabelais, and Baaaalzac. ..... Omar Kay..I....I...I..am appalled!"

 

But we solemnly swear to read them with two hands.

[Violet Crown]

Well Violet Crown, we shall have to call you Madame Librarian." She advocates dirty books, like Chaucer, Rabelais, and Baaaalzac. ..... Omar Kay..I....I...I..am appalled!"

 

But we solemnly swear to read them with two hands.

LOL. In fact when Great Girl was able to read fluently, dh and I went through our library and culled all the Inappropriate Books that she might stumble on. I regret selling Our Lady of the Flowers; Henry Miller, not so much.

[Jane in NC]

Lest our fellow readers think that all 18th century novels fall into the Cleland camp, I think we should mention one of the basic forms we encounter in the classic books of the period.  Some in the initial list of authors that I gave (Fielding, Smollett, Sterne) wrote novels in the picaresque fashion, i.e. featuring a roguish hero often born in questionable circumstances, who after a series of adventures will rise to assume his proper station in life.  The brilliance of these novels is in their satirical content.  Society is corrupt and the authors do not restrain themselves in showing the idiocy around them.

 

When I assigned Gulliver's Travels to my son in 8th grade, he immediately noted "This is like Monty Python!"  Of course he did not understand what Swift was satirizing, but he loved the novel as a story, a fantasy, a satire that is truly laugh aloud funny.

[Violet Crown]

Also I don't think anyone's mentioned Richardson, who was considered in his day the greatest of English novelists but who has somewhat passed from the scene. Pamela is still read sometimes but Clarissa--which I prefer--not so much, in part because of its length. He was the master of the epistolary novel, an endless source of interest to critics for the opportunities to talk about texts spawning texts in geometric profusion as the plot, quite literally, unfolds.

[Jane in NC]

Also I don't think anyone's mentioned Richardson, who was considered in his day the greatest of English novelists but who has somewhat passed from the scene. Pamela is still read sometimes but Clarissa--which I prefer--not so much, in part because of its length. He was the master of the epistolary novel, an endless source of interest to critics for the opportunities to talk about texts spawning texts in geometric profusion as the plot, quite literally, unfolds.

 

I have read neither Pamela nor Clarissa.  One of these days I will certainly read the former if only as a prelude to Fielding's parody Shamela, another in the "to be read" category.

 

[Onceuponatime]

Lest our fellow readers think that all 18th century novels fall into the Cleland camp, I think we should mention one of the basic forms we encounter in the classic books of the period. Some in the initial list of authors that I gave (Fielding, Smollett, Sterne) wrote novels in the picaresque fashion, i.e. featuring a roguish hero often born in questionable circumstances, who after a series of adventures will rise to assume his proper station in life. The brilliance of these novels is in their satirical content. Society is corrupt and the authors do not restrain themselves in showing the idiocy around them.

 

 

That's very interesting. The first thing that popped into my mind was Puddin' Head Wilson by Twain, but he flips that format upside down. The lowly born is assigned to a high estate, only to be dashed to the ground when he is made to assume his "proper" role in society. Of course, Twain was a brilliant satirist himself. (I know, Twain is so 19th century ;-)

[Chrysalis Academy]

Now I feel as if I'd corrupted the morals of the youth of Athens. And lest I make the situation worse, the fact is Cleland is far milder than the books Rousseau was talking about, none of which as far as I know were ever reprinted but are sometimes available in university libraries. I took a class on this subgenre of English and French literature once (our prof had to photocopy the originals; I wonder what the folks at Kinko's thought), and am well-assured that 50 Shades is quite derivative.

 

A literary connection; in Henry James' The Awkward Age, from my list of last year, the coming-of-age heroine is known to have read a French novel of her mother's that came in a plain wrapper: while her mother's social circle applaud the girl's emancipated upbringing, she discovers in the end [spoiler ALERT!] that the old Victorian standards nevertheless hold, and she has rendered herself unmarriageable even among the most "modern" of her mother's set.

 

I'm glad that when I read Jean Genet's Funeral Rites a year or so ago, nobody Googled that. But if you do, I have a whole list of vulgar lit for anybody who's interested. Rabelais, Boccaccio, Bataille...

 

ETA: I just read the Wikipedia article on The Awkward Age. What a subliterate mess. It reads like a composition by a high schooler who had never read James before. More reasons not to depend on the internet.

 

Well, you'll have to have a little hemlock in your morning coffee!  ;)  :D

 

Well Violet Crown, we shall have to call you Madame Librarian." She advocates dirty books, like Chaucer, Rabelais, and Baaaalzac. ..... Omar Kay..I....I...I..am appalled!"

 

But we solemnly swear to read them with two hands.

 

Yes, my girls were really keen to know the joke contained in this line. I had to kind of chortle as my 8 year old walked around the house singing it loudly!

[Chrysalis Academy]

Lest our fellow readers think that all 18th century novels fall into the Cleland camp, I think we should mention one of the basic forms we encounter in the classic books of the period.  Some in the initial list of authors that I gave (Fielding, Smollett, Sterne) wrote novels in the picaresque fashion, i.e. featuring a roguish hero often born in questionable circumstances, who after a series of adventures will rise to assume his proper station in life.  The brilliance of these novels is in their satirical content.  Society is corrupt and the authors do not restrain themselves in showing the idiocy around them.

 

When I assigned Gulliver's Travels to my son in 8th grade, he immediately noted "This is like Monty Python!"  Of course he did not understand what Swift was satirizing, but he loved the novel as a story, a fantasy, a satire that is truly laugh aloud funny.

 

 

Also I don't think anyone's mentioned Richardson, who was considered in his day the greatest of English novelists but who has somewhat passed from the scene. Pamela is still read sometimes but Clarissa--which I prefer--not so much, in part because of its length. He was the master of the epistolary novel, an endless source of interest to critics for the opportunities to talk about texts spawning texts in geometric profusion as the plot, quite literally, unfolds.

 

I went through a weird phase in early high school where I decided to read all the great novels of the English language.  In order, starting at the beginning.   :huh:   I don't know where I got ahold of the list, but I did read Robinson Crusoe, Pamela, Tom Jones, and Tristam Shandy before I ran out of gas on the project and leapfrogged ahead to Austen and Dickens.  They all kind of run together in my head now, but I do recall that some of them were significantly more risque than Victorian novels.  Not in a sexual sense, but just more free and easy, less morally repressed if that makes sense.

 

ETA: I meant to add, that it wasn't until I found the WTM boards that I discovered another human being who had ever heard of Tristam Shandy or Pamela, much less read them!  I love you guys.  :cheers2:

[TeacherZee]

Can I curl up in the comfy chairs we have here in our little reading room and ask one of you ladies to make me a cup of tea? I am having to put all my books in boxes and I have no idea when I will see them again (right now I am thankful for my kindle). I am looking forward to moving....at the same time as I hate it.

 

I got a new book today! Anzac Girls by Peter Reese but rather than curling up with it I am packing away stuff into boxes.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

Public Service Announcement:

 

Some of these books are available for free on Kindle. Take care when telling one's offspring that downloading any free (or relatively inexpensive) classic is fine. I'm not sure what she stumbled across, but several months ago my daughter somewhat admonishingly told me that I was a bit naïve if I thought all free classics were appropriate. Oops.

 

 

 

[Jane in NC]

I went through a weird phase in early high school where I decided to read all the great novels of the English language.  In order, starting at the beginning.   :huh:   I don't know where I got ahold of the list, but I did read Robinson Crusoe, Pamela, Tom Jones, and Tristam Shandy before I ran out of gas on the project and leapfrogged ahead to Austen and Dickens.  They all kind of run together in my head now, but I do recall that some of them were significantly more risque than Victorian novels.  Not in a sexual sense, but just more free and easy, less morally repressed if that makes sense.

 

I completely agree.  Nothing is sacred in many of the 18th century novels:  government, religion, the class of one's birth.  Frankly I find them to be very refreshing in that there are no sacred cows.

 

Of course, not all of the novels of the period fit in the description above.  Mrs. Radcliffe's Gothic novels are another kettle of fish.

[Kareni]

" . ..... Omar Kay..I....I...I..am appalled!"

 

 

And clearly my knowledge of musicals is deficient as I had to use a search engine to discover that this came from the Music Man.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Violet Crown]

Right, I'm definitely reading The Worm in the Bud when I finish the two books I'm on. I notice it starts with a double page "Sin Map of London in Victorian Times."

[Stacia]

I really enjoy novels done in a picaresque style.

 

Re: 18th century racy novels...

 

I read a modern book a few years ago which takes place during the Reign of Terror. The central core of the story is a "young fan-maker, who is known throughout France for her sensual, sexually graphic creations, finds herself on trial for her collaboration with the infamous Marquis de Sade". It is extremely well-written & has at its core the issues of zealotry & censorship. Anyway, if anyone starts heading down the path of reading 18th century books with brown paper wrappers while being sure to hold the book with both hands ;) , this might be a good go-along. (As I remember, it's not really explicit, though. It is more about the trial of the fan-maker.)

 

The Fan-Maker's Inquisition by Rikki Ducornet

 

A young fan-maker, who is known throughout France for her sensual, sexually graphic creations, finds herself on trial for her collaboration with the infamous Marquis de Sade. Heads will roll unless the independent fan-maker, erotically cast in the shadow of de Sade, can justify her art and friendships to a court known for its rigid and prudish proprieties.

 

My review from when I read it:

 

A Goodreads friend highly recommended Rikki Ducornet’s novel, The Fan-Maker’s Inquisition. Having never previously read Ducornet’s works, I find that she writes very luscious, provocative prose, which seems especially fitting as the subtitle of the book is A Novel of the Marquis de Sade. Partly, it’s a historical fiction novel based around a fan-maker (of scandalous fans, writings, friendships, & liasions) being tried during the Reign of Terror while also weaving a tale of an earlier reign of terror, that of Bishop Landa’s Inquisition & autos-da-fé of Mayans in the 1500s. Ducornet excels with her alternating transcripts of the court proceedings, personal letters, and various documents used to tell the overlapping stories. Her skillful hand exposes the irony, hypocrisy, and zealotry that drive humans to various extremes – acts from destroying different cultures, destroying individuals, destroying minds – whether done by groups or people on the outside or whether the decay begins from within. It takes an adroit author to create simultaneous plotlines that cover different time periods, while entwining the similar threads of the undoing of both men & civilizations. We certainly repeat the past, don’t we?

{Note: Some spoilers ahead…}

I especially liked Ducornet’s parallels between Bishop Landa’s destruction of Mayan books/knowledge & the Reign of Terror’s destruction of materials deemed inappropriate. Censorship & fanaticism are timeless topics & this book gave a somewhat lesser-known historical look at topics that still haunt us today. (Looking up Bishop Landa, I found irony in the fact that while he destroyed so much knowledge, he also was one of the most knowledgeable about Mayan learning & his notes & information are still being used today to help decipher the Mayan language.) These are not the only parallels that shine through the text; the topics may be rooted in the past yet are so relevant to each other as well as to today.

On a small side note, I enjoyed the fan-maker descriptions because fans had prominence in a different book (The Stockholm Octavo) I read earlier this year. And, the Marquis also figured in another historical fiction I read set during the French Revolution, Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution. Certainly, the Marquis de Sade is a notorious figure, but after reading so much about the Reign of Terror, I imagine it must have been an incredible feat for anyone to stay sane during those times, especially if imprisoned for years, some of the time within seeing/hearing distance of the guillotine during its daily use surrounded by baying crowds.

{End of spoilers.}

Historical fiction that’s both exquisite & sharp, while pointing out issues that plague society today, especially if you’re concerned with freedom of speech/expression & censorship – what more can you ask for in a novel? The Fan-Maker’s Inquisition provides some savory fodder for discussions & pondering -- & perhaps the dream of learning & growing from our past. Highly recommended. 4.5 stars.

"What are books but tangible dreams? What is reading if it is not dreaming? The best books cause us to dream; the rest are not worth reading." – Rikki Ducornet, The Fan-Maker’s Inquisition

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

I completely agree.  Nothing is sacred in many of the 18th century novels:  government, religion, the class of one's birth.  Frankly I find them to be very refreshing in that there are no sacred cows.

 

Of course, not all of the novels of the period fit in the description above.  Mrs. Radcliffe's Gothic novels are another kettle of fish.

 

What kind of kettle, exactly? I keep meaning to read one of these, but haven't quite gotten around to it. I think I'll need cheaters before I do, the type is so dang small in the Penguin edition our library has.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

What kind of kettle, exactly? I keep meaning to read one of these, but haven't quite gotten around to it. I think I'll need cheaters before I do, the type is so dang small in the Penguin edition our library has.

 

You've not read any Radcliffe? :svengo:  What on earth have you been doing with your life? :toetap05:

[Chrysalis Academy]

No . . .  :leaving:   Where should I start?

 

ETA:  The funny thing is, many of Georgette Heyer's Regency heroines read novels by Mrs. Radcliffe.  But at the time I was reading them, I didn't realize she was a real person.

[Stacia]

You've not ready any Radcliffe? :svengo:  What on earth have you been doing with your life? :toetap05:

 

I've obviously been slacking around like Rose since I haven't read any Radcliffe either. :leaving:

[Woodland Mist Academy]

What kind of kettle, exactly? I keep meaning to read one of these, but haven't quite gotten around to it. I think I'll need cheaters before I do, the type is so dang small in the Penguin edition our library has.

 

I have an original; it makes Penguin seem large type!  Talk about tiny, tiny print!!

[Onceuponatime]

Radcliffe has also been on my to read list forever. I never seem to get around to her.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

I've obviously been slacking around like Rose since I haven't read any Radcliffe either. :leaving:

 

 

Radcliffe has also been on my to read list forever. I never seem to get around to her.

 

:svengo:  Clearly something is amiss on the BaW board...

[Woodland Mist Academy]

No . . .  :leaving:   Where should I start?

 

ETA:  The funny thing is, many of Georgette Heyer's Regency heroines read novels by Mrs. Radcliffe.  But at the time I was reading them, I didn't realize she was a real person.

 

Anywhere, start anywhere! :laugh:

 

Oddly enough, I've never read anything by Georgette Heyer, although she is on my list.

 

Tit for tat? :lol:

[Chrysalis Academy]

And clearly my knowledge of musicals is deficient as I had to use a search engine to discover that this came from the Music Man.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

Having two young dds who are musical theater buffs has, ahem, remedied my deficiencies in this area.  Darn musical earworms!  :lol:

 

ETA: I get my revenge by loudly singing 80s rock to them.  In places they can't escape from, like the car.  :D

[JennW in SoCal]

Can I curl up in the comfy chairs we have here in our little reading room and ask one of you ladies to make me a cup of tea? I am having to put all my books in boxes and I have no idea when I will see them again (right now I am thankful for my kindle). I am looking forward to moving....at the same time as I hate it.

 

I got a new book today! Anzac Girls by Peter Reese but rather than curling up with it I am packing away stuff into boxes.

 

Moving books is the worst.  They are dusty and heavy, and quickly fill up far more boxes than you could imagine necessary.  And they are a constant distraction as you pull them off the shelf, calling out to you to open them up and linger over forgotten or favorite passages. 

 

And now you have to put them away and live without them for a few weeks or so?  

 

You need a cuppa, and perhaps something a tad stronger, too!

 

And, on the rest of the shocking, yes, shocking I say!  :eek:  posts in the thread yesterday and today... 

My education is such that while I've not heard of many of the authors and titles being bandied about by Jane and VC, I instantly got the Madame Librarian reference, and in my mind immediately filled in the "cheep cheep cheep cheep" refrain. LOVE that show!  "He left all the books to her...."

[Onceuponatime]

And clearly my knowledge of musicals is deficient as I had to use a search engine to discover that this came from the Music Man.

 

Regards,

Kareni

Clearly, I've watched too many musicals. I just realized that's the third one I've quoted on the boards this week.

[Chrysalis Academy]

Anywhere, start anywhere! :laugh:

 

Oddly enough, I've never read anything by Georgette Heyer, although she is on my list.

 

Tit for tat? :lol:

 

Ok, I'll read the Radcliffe of your choice if you'll read The Grand Sophy.  You will just need a few free hours, I will require reading glasses and a looooong stretch of free time . . . . 

[Stacia]

I feel out of my league. I didn't know about the 18th century brown-wrapper books, haven't read Mrs. Radcliffe or Georgette Heyer, nor am I knowledgeable about musicals.

 

:svengo:  (Where's my fainting couch when I need it?)

 

TeacherZee, :grouphug: . Moving is a hard job.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

Can I curl up in the comfy chairs we have here in our little reading room and ask one of you ladies to make me a cup of tea? I am having to put all my books in boxes and I have no idea when I will see them again (right now I am thankful for my kindle). I am looking forward to moving....at the same time as I hate it.

 

I got a new book today! Anzac Girls by Peter Reese but rather than curling up with it I am packing away stuff into boxes.

 

My Kindle refreshed its last page a few days ago...  I had no idea they only lasted a couple years or so, although it shouldn't have been a surprise...

 

I wandered around lost, wondering what would happen next... Existential angst - that's what.

 

I thought of all the lovely hardbacks we donated before the moves and my heart sank. Why? Why had we recklessly discarded so many books? I tried to decide if it was worth it, this lightening of the load...I wandered past our shelves of books we deemed worthy of transport, out the door, and into a bookshop. Life. Why does a physical book seem to have more life? I will replace the Kindle because it has its place. A total replacement, however, it is not.

 

Good luck with the move and good for you for packing the books! I'm so thankful for the ones we kept.

[Jane in NC]

Someone needs to catch Woodland Mist when she faints yet again. I have not read Mrs. Radcliffe but will confess to listening to a BBC Radio 4 dramatization of The Mysteries of Udolpho out of curiosity, given the Jane Austen reference to this work.

 

And here I thought Madame Librarian was a courtesy title!

 

Sending Teacher Zee virtual chocolate.

 

And love to all of you.  What fabulous conversation!

[Woodland Mist Academy]

Ok, I'll read the Radcliffe of your choice if you'll read The Grand Sophy.  You will just need a few free hours, I will require reading glasses and a looooong stretch of free time . . . . 

 

I accept! :cheers2:

 

Hmm...choosing...I can't handle the pressure of choosing....

 

I'll let you choose! Mysteries is my favorite, but The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne is super short. Of course there are others in-between. If you read Athlin and Dunbayne, please know it's not her best work!

[JennW in SoCal]

For my fellow lovers of musicals I recommend Meredith Wilson's memoir, But He Doesn't Know the Territory, about writing and mounting the original Music Man production. I learned about it from the cast of the production I played in last summer. The show is a love letter to Wilson's small town Iowa roots, much as main street Disneyland is Disney's love letter to the midwestern towns of his youth. Many of the Music Man characters are drawn from real people he knew growing up. Wilson played piccolo in John Philip Sousa's band -- he really DOES know the territory! Fun fact for those of you who play music: the tempo marking on "Goodnight my someone" is "schmaltzando"!! It has a fabulously schmaltzy violin solo.  

[TeacherZee]

Moving books is the worst.  They are dusty and heavy, and quickly fill up far more boxes than you could imagine necessary.  And they are a constant distraction as you pull them off the shelf, calling out to you to open them up and linger over forgotten or favorite passages. 

 

And now you have to put them away and live without them for a few weeks or so?  

 

You need a cuppa, and perhaps something a tad stronger, too!

 

And, on the rest of the shocking, yes, shocking I say!  :eek:  posts in the thread yesterday and today... 

My education is such that while I've not heard of many of the authors and titles being bandied about by Jane and VC, I instantly got the Madame Librarian reference, and in my mind immediately filled in the "cheep cheep cheep cheep" refrain. LOVE that show!  "He left all the books to her...."

 

Unfortunately I have no idea if it is for a few weeks, a few months or a few years. As things stand today I will be living with my grandparents with most of my stuff in storage. Hopefully I will hear about a studio apartment next week but it is probably about half the size of my current place. Housing where I am moving to is...scares. Right now it looks like I a person number 2000-ish on the waiting list and it takes about 3 years to get a place. So unless I win the lottery...who knows when I will see most of my books again.

 

Thanks for all the commiserations everyone.

[Robin M]

I'm getting the inclination since Radcliffe was born in July, maybe she should be the author flavor, no pun intended, of the month.

 

Hugs Zee. We cleaned out our bedroom and 20 boxes of books took up residence in the garage. I can't tell you how many times both me and my hubby have ends up out there searching through boxes for a particular book. Such a shame we didn't label any of boxes. Like a treasure hunt each time.

 

Fanny - eyes popped out of my head

 

But Amy's adorable pictures righted them again. You have such a darling family.

[Chrysalis Academy]

For my fellow lovers of musicals I recommend Meredith Wilson's memoir, But He Doesn't Know the Territory, about writing and mounting the original Music Man production. I learned about it from the cast of the production I played in last summer. The show is a love letter to Wilson's small town Iowa roots, much as main street Disneyland is Disney's love letter to the midwestern towns of his youth. Many of the Music Man characters are drawn from real people he knew growing up. Wilson played piccolo in John Philip Sousa's band -- he really DOES know the territory! Fun fact for those of you who play music: the tempo marking on "Goodnight my someone" is "schmaltzando"!! It has a fabulously schmaltzy violin solo.  

 

Oh man, I am all over this.  We have seen a live performance, watched the movie multiple times, and Shannon was in the youth theater version.  It's our first Movies as Lit movie for next year too, so this might be a great correlated read.  Thanks for sharing!

 

ETA:  LMAO!!!  I just typed the title into my library catalog, and got something . . .  different.  I wish I could post the book cover, but I'm not sure if that's allowed, but just picture a scantily clad beefcake to go along with this book description (the book is called Watch Me by Silke Juppenlatz, a pseudonym if I ever heard one!)

 

"Keep your enemies close... After enduring a horrific loss, Tiffy is reluctant to trust men. All she wants is her independence and to put her past behind her, but a chance encounter with Keric O'Neill changes all that. The only problem is the handsome Lycan rebuffs her advances, so she's understandably wary when he returns to her territory two years later. All Keric wants is to find out who is responsible for his brother's disappearance. Only he doesn't know what to do about the attraction between him and the girl he's been unable to forget, and who threatens to sidetrack him. Keric is unaware of the danger he is in, or what his bid for revenge will do to Tiffy. When Keric's secrets and betrayal come to light, will revenge and vindictive pack members destroy everything they have come to value?47,115 Words."-- Provided by publisher.

 

Search engines are so weird!!!   :lol:

[Guest]

Coming a little late to the party (and what a fun party!!)

 

Thank you for all the hugs, prayers, and good wishes.  Our period of intense crisis is (iy"h) over, and there is much for which I am grateful.  Thank you for being here with me.

 

 

Most of what I read last week was plays:

 

The Tamer Tamed by John Fletcher:  How did I miss this?  It is a sequel to Taming of the Shrew which has Petruchio's second wife turning the table on him.  It is less emotionally real and satisfying than a Shakespeare, but quite delightful.

 

 

Fefu and Her Friends by Maria Irene Fornes: I wanted to like this.  I wanted to find meaning or at least moving emotions in these enigmatic women and their complex lives.  ...but it fell completely flat for me.

 

Pseudolus by Plautus: If I could have gotten past the sexual slavery aspect of this and the aspects that were supposed to be funny about it (and about beating slaves), I might have appreciated this more.  It has some charm and humor, and I can appreciate Plautus more for himself in this than I could in the Menaechmi (Shakespeare's source for Comedy of Errors).

 

G-d's Favorite by Neil Simon: Unlike Fefu and Her Friends, this was coherent and didn't fall short, but, perhaps like the Plautus, I couldn't find funny some of the things that I think were supposed to be.  It's a modern take-off on Iyov (Job), always a challenging topic, but it really didn't work for me.

 

other things read:

 

Proportions of the Heart: Poems that Play with Mathematics by Emily Grosholz: A slim chapbook of clever poems with mathematical and philosophical riffs.

 

The Owl and the Nightingale (a humorous Middle English poem)

 

Lhind the Spy by Sherwood Smith: a sequel to her (middle grades) Lhind the Thief.  I felt it had a rocky start and an abrupt end, but a very interesting middle.  I would have enjoyed a longer book with more exploration of that place/culture.  ...though I think what I really wanted was a grown-up book set there. (My twins would, however, have been very disappointed.  They've been looking forward to this since they read the first one.)

[mumto2]

:grouphug: Teacherzee, I hope your books come out of storage quickly and that you have your own place soon.

 

I lost many books in our move. While I have stuffed bookshelves and boxes in the garage I will always miss what I lost. I filled a bookshelf at my mom's with things I hadn't read, really dumb move. I should have filled it with favourites because I still haven't read them.

[Kareni]

ETA:  LMAO!!!  I just typed the title into my library catalog, and got something . . .  different.  I wish I could post the book cover, but I'm not sure if that's allowed, but just picture a scantily clad beefcake to go along with this book description (the book is called Watch Me by Silke Juppenlatz, a pseudonym if I ever heard one!)

 

If anyone is curious, you can see the cover here.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Pink and Green Mom]

I feel out of my league. I didn't know about the 18th century brown-wrapper books, haven't read Mrs. Radcliffe or Georgette Heyer, nor am I knowledgeable about musicals.

 

:svengo:  (Where's my fainting couch when I need it?)

 

TeacherZee, :grouphug: . Moving is a hard job.

 

Ha!  I'm over here thinking "why isn't anyone talking about easy, breezy summer reading?  Stop trying to broaden my horizons!" :lol:

 

I kid, I kid. 

[Stacia]

Ha!  I'm over here thinking "why isn't anyone talking about easy, breezy summer reading?  Stop trying to broaden my horizons!" :lol:

 

I kid, I kid. 

 

:lol:

 

I'm thinking this (^) could be answered by this (v).

 

(In case it's not clear, my little symbols are supposed to be arrows pointing up & down.)

 

:laugh:

 

If anyone is curious, you can see the cover here.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[NoseInABook]

*giggles* Oh, this thread never fails to be filled with amusement!

 

I finished Sally Clarkson's Own Your Life and Camilla Chafer's Arcane Magic. Starting in on The Girl On The Train next! It's a rainy day so I might actually get a chance to read before bedtime. Woo!