Tag: jonathan strange & mr. norrell

Sunday Post #27: Summer

Posted on by Dana

Sunday PostAm I weird for not liking summer? I like the time off. I just don’t like the heat, and the types of activities you do in summer are not my favorites. I like the beach okay, but only for about an hour or two. Then I want to go home. I don’t like traveling much, especially not when it’s hot. And I loathe hot weather. I will never forget what a rude awakening humidity can be when I moved to St. Louis the summer before I started high school. I had grown up in Colorado, so I had never felt anything like it. It was terrible. How did people live? Ugh. It was an oppressive, aggressive humidity. I haven’t lived anywhere else that felt quite that awful, but Georgia was pretty darned close. So many days in the 90’s and even over 100 degrees. I couldn’t stand it. Give me a winter with ten feet of snow over a hot summer. We are having a hot day today, and I’m just being whiny. My favorite season is fall, and in my opinion, the temperatures are just about perfect in the fall.

I finally did go ahead and just stop reading I Always Loved You by Robin Oliveira. I posted it on PaperBackSwap, and it was claimed right away. It’s in the mail now. So that’s done. I really wanted to like that book. Just couldn’t get into it. I did two reviews this week: March: Book Two and Go Set a Watchman. It would seem I liked that second book a lot more than everyone else, which makes me wonder if there is something wrong with me. Truthfully, though, I rate books highly if I can’t put them down and read them fast. That says something to me about how good I think they are. If I am doing anything I can not to read a book, including setting it aside in favor of other books, then I know I’m not liking it. If I am doing anything I can to read the book and rarely setting it down, then I am loving it. So I guess I’m not very distinguished. I can live with that. I’ve been called worse. One thing I truly loathe is a book snob.

I added a few books to my wishlist/TBR list:

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I found out about The Gates of Evangeline through Shelf Awareness and Henry Hikes to Fitchburg through Brain Pickings, which also convinced me maybe to read Walking. I have to admit, while I had checked in on Brain Pickings occasionally, I have really started reading it the last week or so, and I am in love with that blog. The Haven Kimmel memoirs I added because I read most of the chapter “Brother” from the second book, and I really loved it as a piece of creative nonfiction. I am thinking there might be good writing models for my students in these two books.

Speaking of Fitchburg, I will be heading up there in a few hours. My AP Literature training course takes place up there this coming week. Unlike Thoreau, I will not be walking there. I am not sure what kind of reading I’ll do because I imagine I’ll have homework and that I’ll need to do some reading for the course. I will be glad to get it over with. I do love PD. I really do. But this summer has been a lot for me. I am going to be a lot smarter next summer and do maybe one thing instead. I know once I get started tomorrow, I will enjoy it. I have heard only good things about AP training.

Before I go, is anyone else watching Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell on BBC America? I am so LOVING that show! I listened to the audio book some time back, and I was excited when I heard they were making a miniseries, and I just think the casting is perfect. It’s like what might happen if Jane Austen met Harry Potter. It’s sort of making me want to re-read the book, and read it this time instead of listen. That is a little crazy given the length and the number of footnotes.

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news, recap the past week on your blog, and showcase books and things we have received. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.

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Sunday Post #1: Resolutions

Posted on by Dana

Sunday PostI’m very excited to have found a new-to-me book meme in the Sunday Post.

I discovered the that house that may have inspired Mr. Darcy’s estate is for sale, and I was curious, so I did a quick Google search, and I thought I must have seen that house in a Jane Austen movie, but IMDb doesn’t list the house as a shooting location for any of them. However, two of my favorite books, which I didn’t know had been adapted for film, did appear as shooting locations: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell and The Thirteenth Tale. What gives? Why are we not hearing about these movies/series in the US? Anyone know? If nothing else, the success of shows like Downton Abbey and Doctor Who must have proven we have fairly sizable appetite for British television over here in the States. I haven’t heard a thing about either production. A quick Amazon search reveals you can purchase the The Thirteenth Tale as a DVD import, but it’s pricey and most likely won’t work with US DVD players. I really want to see it. It looks like maybe Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell will be on BBC America some time this year.

This week, I started reading Kathleen Kent’s second novel, The Wolves of Andover, which appears to have been reissued and retitled The Traitor’s Wife. Kathleen Kent’s website doesn’t explain the change in title. I had the opportunity to meet Kathleen Kent at an English teachers’ conference some years ago, which is when I originally purchased this book—actually, now that I’m thinking, I can’t remember if I did purchase it or if it was provided for free. In any case, I would had purchased it even if I hadn’t gone to conference and met Kent because I enjoyed her first novel, The Heretic’s Daughter. I suppose the change in title was meant to echo the title of that first novel, as both are about the Carrier family in Massachusetts. The first novel is mainly the story of Thomas and Martha Carrier’s daughter, Sarah. Martha Carrier was one the accused in the Salem Witch Trials, and her children were made to testify against her. The Wolves of Andover or The Traitor’s Wife is the story of how Thomas and Martha Carrier met and married. Here’s the trailer:

I have had the book for a long time. I was able to get it signed, and it’s dated, so you can see how long it was on my shelf before I picked it up:

The Wolves of AndoverKind of ridiculous, given I really do and did want to read it. I have had sort of a mediocre couple of reading years in 2013 and 2014, so I’m hoping 2015 will be better. So far, so good. I was able to complete three books and reviews during the first week of January:

I especially loved the first and third, which are new favorites.

I made a resolution, of sorts, to do more with this blog. I do review all the books I read, but aside from that, there isn’t as much discussion of books and reading as I would like, so I hope that participating in a few weekly memes and sharing news, questions, and other reflections might help me. Every year, it seems, I rediscover some time in December, when I’m on winter break (which can’t be a coincidence), how much I love writing on this blog. Then I get busy, and I don’t read as much as I want to, and weeks go by with no updates. It doesn’t have be all about reviews, and I often say that we make time for the things we value. If I truly value blogging here, I should make the time for it. I also need to give myself permission to make it whatever I like. It’s a reading blog, yes, but it’s also my blog, and if I want to write about other things, that should be okay. I second guess myself about writing on other topics a lot, however.

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news, recap the past week on your blog, and showcase books and things we have received. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.

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