Victorians! discussion
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Conversations in the Parlor
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General chit-chat and information (part 2)
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Joy
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Mar 10, 2010 07:58PM
haha. That's hilarious. But who needs a paycheck when you have poetry?
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Susanna's mom's here?? Who is she????? I want to see her 'read' list!! Ever since you mentioned that, Susanna, it's made me re-imagine what the live book clubs must be like; Yorkshire pudding and an English Lit Prof for a book club, wow :)
Sigrid wrote: "I hate being away somewhere and not having anything to read! It kills me every time.. but what's Kindle?
I want to study English literature! :D
Honorary member does sound cool ;)"
The Kindle is one of the many electronic reading devices currently available; along with Sony's e-reader, Barnes & Noble's 'nook' and there many be others I'm missing.
We periodically bring up a debate among those have love the Kindle and those who most likely will never buy one.
I've owned one for awhile now... gosh, almost a year, actually, and my summary is..
Kindle = function
Books = pleasure
The Kindle is great for several things (light-weight, easy on the eyes, stores almost 2,000 books, books available in under a minute, etc.) but they aren't like real books is so many important ways. Ahhh... the debate rages on.
Joy wrote: "haha. That's hilarious. But who needs a paycheck when you have poetry?"lol . . . sadly, it is rough going for Stay at Home Poets.
Perhaps a union should be started... I can see it now: support will sweep across the country and your sweetie will be known as the father of the SaHPU (Stay at Home Poets United) and the savior of original expression in language everywhere.
Announcement! :) Just to say that I have changed my name to read MadgeUK so as not to be confused with the other Margaret!
MadgeUK wrote: "Announcement! :) Just to say that I have changed my name to read MadgeUK so as not to be confused with the other Margaret!"Welcome, Avatar of Margaret.
I think I agree with Paula's assessment of the Kindle. It's nice and fun, but it's not a book.
I don't think I'll like it then. I hate reading books on my computer. Somehow it doesn't feel reel to me if I don't have a book in my hands and pages to turn.
Here's something about my new Kindle that I'm not crazy about: I'm 56 and have arthritis in my hands. On a Kindle, one pushes a button to get to the next page. I'm kind of a fast reader, but nothing extraordinary. Nevertheless, my thumbs get sore from hitting the button to change the pages. It's a bit like getting sore hands/fingers from playing with a handheld video game for too long.
Her name is Judy.
Susanna wrote: "Her name is Judy."Wouldn't you know it, we have three Judys. I'm guessing Judy B.??
Just a general note - I may not be around much this weekend as we have been summoned home to look at possible reception locations for the wedding. Am I the only bride who does not relish wedding planning activities?
Paula wrote: "Just a general note - I may not be around much this weekend as we have been summoned home to look at possible reception locations for the wedding. Am I the only bride who does not relish wedding pl..."Paula, I remember planning for our wedding (13 years ago --- egads!), and I can assure you that you're not the only one who finds it a hassle. All the itty bitty things --- reception, band, food, dress etc. --- just drove me nuts! We should have hired a wedding coordinator.
Maybe it's a good idea for you to consider that, if you feel stressed about it?
I feel stressed that since we told my stepmother, she has taken on that role. I had to have a serious mtg with her and my father and lay down some ground rules and they still aren't listening. I've even told them if they don't calm down I'm going to elope (and they know I'd do it). I'm the only one in my family to ever not do the big, huge, traditional, Catholic wedding, and I have a really big family so that's saying a bit. It's not going over well but I refuse to do something that doesn't speak to who we are.
I apologize in advance for the griping to come over the next year and will do my best to keep it to a minimum :)
Paula - please feel free to gripe! I mean, if you can't gripe to an online community of fellow book-lovers, who can you gripe to?I had a 4 month long engagement and that was plenty long enough for me! Take lots of deep breaths and don't let you wicked step-mother ruin this experience for you (your step-mom may not be wicked, but mine is so I picture all others as such). Good luck and try to enjoy it!
Paula wrote: "I feel stressed that since we told my stepmother, she has taken on that role. I had to have a serious mtg with her and my father and lay down some ground rules and they still aren't listening. I've..."Paula, I can totally relate to that, since we had a huge, traditional Catholic wedding with tons of relatives and acquaintances that we barely knew. It was wonderful, but also very stressful. That's the way it's done in my country, but I wish that we had gone a different route.
Fortunately, my parents and in-laws were pretty tactful and didn't micro-manage every detail. I hope your family will come around soon too.
Feel free to gripe anytime! : )
Paula wrote: "I feel stressed that since we told my stepmother, she has taken on that role. I had to have a serious mtg with her and my father and lay down some ground rules and they still aren't listening. I've..."
Elope, the big catholic wedding isn't worth the stress.
Elope, the big catholic wedding isn't worth the stress.
Girl, we're here for you. Take the money and go to Tahiti.
Paula wrote: "Susanna wrote: "Her name is Judy."Wouldn't you know it, we have three Judys. I'm guessing Judy B.??"
I had no idea there was more than one Judy. Yes, she's Judy B.
Susanna wrote: "Paula wrote: "Susanna wrote: "Her name is Judy."Wouldn't you know it, we have three Judys. I'm guessing Judy B.??"
I had no idea there was more than one Judy. Yes, she's Judy B."
I just had to look at her 'read' list and it was clear. Amazing list of books she's gone through!
Thank you all so much for the support!! :) We thought we had it covered by saying we were doing the small ceremony on a beach somewhere tropical. Apparently that doesn't exempt us from a huge reception. My area of staunch rebellion is that instead of registering for gifts we are giving people options to donate to charities of our choice. We don't need stuff but apparently this is one of the things that has upset the stepmother. Apparently people want to buy us "stuff." Why? Help out a literacy council or an animal shelter! Goof grief, charlie brown.
She's read a lot more than the ones she's marked. I think she rates books when she runs into ones she's read.
Paula wrote: "Just a general note - I may not be around much this weekend as we have been summoned home to look at possible reception locations for the wedding. Am I the only bride who does not relish wedding pl..."No, you're not! I've been married over 8 years now but although I wanted to marry my lovely husband I had very little interest in planning the wedding. I think I almost gave my mother-in-law a heart attack because i was so "yes, that one will do". I had zero interest in playing the frenzied bride-to-be. I think I was the only one who never paniced at all.
Paula wrote: "I feel stressed that since we told my stepmother, she has taken on that role. I had to have a serious mtg with her and my father and lay down some ground rules and they still aren't listening. I've..."I had to crack up when I read your comment about 'eloping.' When my oldest daughter was planning her wedding, I made the offer of the wedding she wanted, or a large amount of cash if they just eloped. They chose the wedding! ;-) Good luck with that! Cheers! Chris
Christopher wrote: "I had to crack up when I read your comment about 'eloping.' When my oldest daughter was planning her wedding, I made the offer of the wedding she wanted, or a large amount of cash if they just eloped. They chose the wedding! ;-) Good luck with that! Cheers! Chris ..."Glad to see you're back, Chris!!
And I would totally take the money :)
Boof wrote: "No, you're not! I've been married over 8 years now but although I wanted to marry my lovely husband I had very little interest in planning the wedding. I think I almost gave my mother-in-law a heart attack because i was so "yes, that one will do". I had zero interest in playing the frenzied bride-to-be. I think I was the only one who never paniced at all. ..."Then you'd be proud - I was very decisive this weekend, so we're making progress. Glad to hear I'm not the only bride who doesn't rush out and spend a year over the planning!
To All-Got back from a weekend away and caught a nasty cold on the way. I'm also swamped at work, so I'll be updating the group reads and setting up nominations for the next read, but it may be sporadic. Thanks for your patience!
I would definitely take the money.
Paula wrote: "To All-Got back from a weekend away and caught a nasty cold on the way. I'm also swamped at work, so I'll be updating the group reads and setting up nominations for the next read, but it may be s..."
Feel better soon, Paula ♥
Susanna wrote: "I would definitely take the money."I would even elope for NO money if it meant getting out of the wedding scene.
Paula wrote: "Thank you all so much for the support!! :) We thought we had it covered by saying we were doing the small ceremony on a beach somewhere tropical. Apparently that doesn't exempt us from a huge recep..."Paula, if you didn't get it settled this past weekend, do you have a trustworthy friend who could act as "gift manager"? That might do the trick, and it might make your family realize that if you have enlisted a friend to handle this, it is important enough that they back down. I think charity donations are so much more appropriate in the world today. Who needs another blender or a matching set of placemats?
I hear you on all this -- during my wedding, my family stayed out of it, however, it was a FRIEND who got all up in arms that I wasn't doing things the traditional Southern way. Can you believe it -- (I guess she decided to play the role of my mother.) ha ha And sadly, it wrecked our friendship afterward.
Everyman wrote: "Susanna wrote: "I would definitely take the money."I would even elope for NO money if it meant getting out of the wedding scene."
I am just surprised at you -- E-man! ha ha
Aww, Sarah, I heart you! You understand!! And that's a great idea to enlist a friend. Actually, considering my fiance has some craziness for his family, I enlisted his sister to ensure that on the day of the wedding, drama is either avoided or at least not brought to my attention. :) We traded that for the idea that she can choose any dress she wants to wear as my witness, as long as it's actually a dress (she's a track&field coach, so doesn't wear many dresses).
However, Becky Sharp is no where near as sympathetic as Scarlet O'Hara and the Civil War is no substitute for the Napleonic Wars. I really enjoyed Vanity Fair, which was started as Thackery's attempt to get a job as an illustrator (Thackery once tried to get a job illustrating Dickens but was turned down, the first edition of VF was filled with his illustrations.) It has been over a year since I read it, and yet I still wonder what her diamond outfit that she danced in looked like. It is a great book.
MaryZorro wrote: "I just finished Gone With the Wind and am now starting Vanity Fair. I had no idea I would be continuing on with the same characters! Melanie/Amelia and Scarlett/Becky are amazingly alike (and Mar..."We haven't read it as a group yet but it usually gets nominated on a regular basis. I agree - fabulous book and one I'm sure Margaret Mitchell was somewhat familiar with when she wrote her famous book. Not that MM stole all the ideas, but the characters are just sooo similar!
It isn't just the characters, but the situations too, it is a little too close
Mary - I finished Vanity Fair a little over a month ago and really enjoyed it! Becky Sharp is such a great character to read. I haven't read Gone with the Wind yet, but I am interested to look for parallels between the characters when I do get a chance to read it! I look forward to hearing more about what you think of VF. Happy reading :)
Hi Zorro! I read Vanity Fair last year, and I agree, Becky is a much 'sharper' (forgive me the pun, it's just irresistible) character than Scarlett. She is a tough survivor, and also a master manipulator of both men and women. I felt ambivalent about her --- a character that can be both sympathetic and repulsive. Thackeray did a great job with her. If GWTW's characters are similar to VF's, who is the Rhett Butler equivalent in VF? Rawdon Crawley?
Paul wrote: "It isn't just the characters, but the situations too, it is a little too close"I don't remember that much about GWTW since I read that more than 15 years ago. What situations are similar? I couldn't think of anything except for the burning of Atlanta/Waterloo scenes.
Paul wrote: "It isn't just the characters, but the situations too, it is a little too close"I love Vanity Fair, but have not yet read Gone with the Wind. Will I be disappointed?
Rawdon is very similar to Rhett Butler, and Amelia Sedly's husband is very similar to Ashely. When I read the book the first time, I didn't notice a lot of Becky's manipulation as I did the second, she is literally the master of every male character in the book. I have often wondered though if Amelia's brother wasn't just a little gay in an undercover way. Mitchell tries to make Scarlett herioc, and Thackery is under no delusion about Becky. I really enjoyed her Miacheviallen (I know I am spelling it wrong)ways and how no matter how far she falls, she still has some control, except over Rawdon who is the only one, other than the headmistress at the beginning who sees her for what she is.
Unlike Vanity Fair, GWTW I think gives us a false and racist view of the south. I hate the movie which presents the slave owners of the south as benevolent heros and heroines of a vanished aristocracy that was so noble. While a similar idea runs through Vanity Fair to some extent, Thackery doesn't see them as noble. Vanishing, dying out, yes. But hardly noble and not heroic.
I have only see the movie version of GWTW, but from that Rawdon Crawley is no Rhett Butler. While Rawdon is a pawn in Becky's manipulations, Rhett seems to be very sharp and have authority over himself and his life. Even when Rawdon [semi-SPOILER:] finally stands up to Becky, it is only to run away and distance himself from her.
SEMI SPOILER, isn't that what Rhett does in the movie, basically run away from Scarlett saying, "Frankly my dear I don't give a damn."
Sigrid wrote: "I don't think I'll like it then. I hate reading books on my computer. Somehow it doesn't feel reel to me if I don't have a book in my hands and pages to turn."yea i feel the same way.. nothing like holding the book while reading...
Paul wrote: "Unlike Vanity Fair, GWTW I think gives us a false and racist view of the south. I hate the movie which presents the slave owners of the south as benevolent heros and heroines of a vanished aristoc..."The aristocracy in VF is not noble at all, they're degenerate and corrupt, from the creepy Crawleys to Lord Steyne. The newly rich, status-obsessed Osbornes are also no better. The Southern land/slave owners in GWTW is presented as heroic survivors, despite their personal foibles.
Thackeray's book is a social satire, while GWTW is a nostalgic look at a romanticized past. Virtually none of the main characters in VF is likable, except for Amelia and Dobbins. And even they are not without their blemishes. No one is sentimentalized, as often happens in Dickens, every one is complex in their goodness/badness.
I haven't read either book but now I am really curious to read BOTH! (Actually, they have both been on my TBR pile forever). I think I am going to give VF a crack this summer (for some reason I always think of it as one to read in the summer - why is that?)
I've read both, but I read GWTW when I was 14 and I'm now 56. So a re-read, back-to-back with VF, sounds like a blast. I wish I didn't have to work for a living.
My father says that one student paper he still remembers years after getting it handed in to him was one which was in the form of letters from Becky Sharp to Scarlett O'Hara, about how to manipulate men.
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Victorians!
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