insert witty title here

[lunabee34]

1.

Haunts of the Black Masseur: The Swimmer as Hero by Charles Sprawson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is a vexing book. Its subject matter is deeply interesting, and I very much appreciate that Sprawson seems to have scoured 19th-century literature and letters for all mentions of swimming (paying particular attention to the Romantic poets); I also really enjoy all the descriptions of Greco-Roman baths.

But it's written as if entirely for himself with few transitions between quotations and with a kind of stream of consciousness leaping from topic to topic. It does that thing that 19th century and early 20th scholarship does where quotes are put in quote marks but not cited in any way and everyone is referred to by last name with no context or identifying details which is fine if the last name is Byron and not so much if the last name is Borrow. It ends abruptly. It's also just weird in places; for example, at several points Sprawson uses the word autistic to describe a Romantic poet or two and he seems to be using it to be mean entirely self-absorbed rather than to indicate he thinks they were autistic in our modern clinical sense of the word, but when I did a quick google search of autistic, he seems to be using an earlier meaning in which autism denoted a condition in which fantasy predominates over reality, but it's still an offensive choice to make when that is not what autism means today.

Those caveats aside, I really did enjoy reading the book. It made me long to swim. I love the way that it dovetails nicely with all the reading/researching I'm doing for my class this fall on 19th century British poetry and prose.



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A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas by Charles Dickens

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is absolutely delightful.

I know I've seen multiple versions of this novella (shout-out to Mickey's Christmas Carol!), but I'm not sure I ever read it. If I did, it was ages and ages ago.

Since I am familiar with the story, the only thing that surprised me is how funny it is. Dickens is extremely witty.



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2. I am having a lot of fun putting together my 19th-century British poetry and prose class. I think it's going to work really well. We're going to read North and South (Gaskell), Syrlin (Ouida), Man and Wife (Collins), A Christmas Carol (Dickens), lots of non-fiction prose essays (Arnold, Carlyle, Ruskin, Ouida again, etc.), and much less poetry, but *shrugs*.

3. I am also enjoying using up old, almost-done notebooks and pens and tossing their carcasses. So satisfying. I think I used up three or four pens in this last week. Glorious!

4. I am trying to do daily journalling that is different from my regular journalling. Usually I write in my private diary to vent or process emotions. So it's very therapeutic but not all that great reading. I want to start keeping a different kind of journal that is not about whining about my life LOL, but I'm having trouble finding good prompts. So many of the prompt lists I see seem geared toward the kind of introspection I'm trying to avoid (questions like "What's holding you back from following your dreams?" or "What three things would you like to change about yourself?").

Anybody have recs for interesting journal prompts? I don't mind if they're introspective; I just don't want the kind that seem to be focused on working through emotions or processing things you don't like about yourself. I'm not really wanting to use this journal to write poetry or fiction, but prompts that are geared toward memoir or creative non-fiction would probably work, too.

Comments

And Consequently Meant for Publication

[executrix]

Look at it from outside--five years from now, as you read the less-immediate, more polished, spate of COVID memoirs, what attracts you in the blurb? What makes you put the book down, either before starting or mid-way? Think about what subjects you'd want to read, and focus on those.

Re: And Consequently Meant for Publication

[lunabee34]

That's a good idea. I wonder what topics will be less common for people to write about? I suspect people will write about isolation and loneliness and about getting back to nature (I've already seen a fair amount of articles about those subjects).

Re: And Consequently Meant for Publication

[executrix]

Have you seen Deb Perelman's New York Times editorial about the difficulties of being a working parent in a system that treats having children as an amusing feminine foible? I'd be glad to send it to you if you haven't.

I'm reading a book of essays about Measure for Measure that has a list of notably dorky topics for papers and exam questions at the end. You could review your life as if you had to write essays about it (maybe in The Good Place?)

Re: And Consequently Meant for Publication

[lunabee34]

No, I haven't seen that! It sounds really interesting.

I also really like that prompt.

What arguments would Nonnie make regarding dish washing? Don't forget to quote directly from the text to support your answer. LOL

Re: And Consequently Meant for Publication

[executrix]

I just c&pd it and sent it to your e-mail, in case the link would be paywalled.

BTW I just started re-watching The Sarah Connor Chronicles, so for any fork in the road (particularly a parenting conundrum)...what would Sarah Connor Do?

Re: And Consequently Meant for Publication

[lunabee34]

Thank you!!!

What would Sarah Connor do? I love it. That should be on a shirt.

[the_future_modernes]

Oh the glee of finishing notebooks and pens!!!

[lunabee34]

OMG, yes. I love it.

My absolute two favorite moments are opening the thing and using it for the first time and using it up and throwing it away. LOL

[misbegotten]

I think some of these writing prompts are fairly interesting. But honestly, I'd want to read your responses to them. ;)

[lunabee34]

This is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you thank you!

<3

[princessofgeeks]

There are all kinds of interesting writing exercises and prompts in Naming the World by Johnston. I've used it for journaling too.

[lunabee34]

I'd never heard of that before. Thank you for the rec!

[corvidology]

I read A Christmas Carol every November/December. I'm always startled by what an incredibly "modern" read it actually is.

[lunabee34]

It really is. And it's very cinematic (which is probably why it's been filmed so many times).

[amejisuto]

I love the Christmas Carol! It's so awesome! I've got various CDs of different versions too. I totally go all out in November/December on Scrooge.

As for journaling, I use The Goddess Journaling Workbook. Its an entire year of things like the Affirmation: I love my unique self. And then you write down at least one thing that makes you different. Then you write down one thing you're different for having. It changes focus throughout the year but its mostly just a paragraph of writing, not much. You can find it here on Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/Goddess-JOURNALING-Workbook-journaling-manifestation-ebook/dp/B07YVGDX75/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=the+goddess+journaling&qid=1594501539&sr=8-2

You don't have to be pagan either, so it's really fun.

[lunabee34]

That looks really cool. Thanks for reccing it to me. I love the positive vibe.

[amejisuto]

You're welcome. On the whole its very postive. Today I'll be writing on how I keep my mind sharp.

[lunabee34]

Oooh, that's a good prompt!

[zulu]

What about an in-depth rumination on something that seems incredibly quotidian? Like grocery shopping or how to choose a TV show to watch or how your neighbourhood is laid out (and a description of each of the rooms in your house and what they're for). Again with publishing afterwards or history in mind; the kind of detail that doesn't usually get recorded, but that would have some descriptive depth to it.

[nyctanthes]

I love this idea.

[lunabee34]

Me too!

[lunabee34]

This is a good idea. Thank you. I think I'm going to try this tonight.

[china_shop]

Since I am familiar with the story, the only thing that surprised me is how funny it is. Dickens is extremely witty.

Oh, that's good to know. I should give it a try sometime. :-)

I am also enjoying using up old, almost-done notebooks and pens and tossing their carcasses. So satisfying.

Hee! ♥

[lunabee34]

You should!

I think Dickens gets a bad rap because some of his books are bloated due to the nature of serial publishing, but CC is just perfect.

[archersangel]

this pinterest page has a lot, maybe you can find something there?
https://www.pinterest.com/corrigan0265/journal-prompts-for-adults/

[lunabee34]

Oh cool! Thank you. That looks really promising.

[solo]

I'm not really a journaller myself, but things that have tempted me from time to time:

- good/nice things that happened every day
- something new I learned every day

Huh, now I'm tempted again. *g*

[lunabee34]

That's a great idea. I do find that focusing on the positive helps me to be more positive.

You should do it!