disappointing for awhile, but I got used to it*

[lunabee34]

1. *courtesy of china_shop; we're starting an office poster empire with this slogan LOL Seriously, this applies to all my health and food issues. I feel seen!

2. One of the garage doors broke because, of course, it did BUT they came out and fixed it the day we called, and now it is under warranty again, so that's good.

3. Today on my walk, a hawk flew low down to the ground ahead of me and landed in a bush on the side of the road. It let me get up close to it and look at it for awhile before it took off. In other nature news, my MeeMaw sent me a card with a black-capped chickadee on it. :)

4. I have been moving more! I got 10K steps yesterday and am on track to do that today as well. And I'm not in terrible pain! Just normal pain. This is very exciting.

5. I had lunch out with my new friend/colleague again, and we went shopping. It felt so normal. And weird to be normal. But really, really nice. And I discovered that Barnes and Nobles is carrying Leuchturrm1917 journals for the same price as Amazon and JetPens, and they had several Palomino Blackwing pencil/journal combos. Nice.

6. I got two cards from misbegotten this week. One says, "Be as kind to yourself as you are to others" which made me tear up (it's going on the corkboard behind my computer in the office where I can see it often), and the other is of a French poster.

7. So much reading! This is how I know that I'm doing okay. :)

Amelia Bedelia Road Trip! by Herman Parish

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Amelia Bedelia goes on vacation and keeps a journal and catches an enormous fish.

Kiddo approved.



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Amelia Bedelia Shapes Up by Herman Parish

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Amelia Bedelia's eventual success at the mock-Olympic Games is a bit implausible, but I can suspend my disbelief for the sake of a cute story. LOL

There is one point in this book where Amelia Bedelia is contemplating the runners painted around the rim of an ancient plate that is truly poetic and quite beautifully written. Makes me wonder if this author ever writes grown up books. :)



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English criticism of the novel, 1865-1900 by Kenneth Graham

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I thoroughly enjoyed this. It is that rare beast of mid-twentieth-century criticism: written clearly and accessibly with engaging authorial voice with everything clearly cited!

Graham's project is to explore how critics and writers defined the novel, its purpose, and good/bad writing in the last 35 years of the 19th century.

Ouida gets a couple of mentions! He also quotes extensively from Vernon Lee and champions her as a critic who ought to get as much attention as James for first articulating ideas that will ultimately be attributed to James.

Surprised that Geraldine Jewsbury isn't mentioned at all.



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Passions of the Mind: Selected Writings by A.S. Byatt

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Oh, this was a slog. :(

I love Byatt the fiction author but find Byatt the critic rather tedious.

We seem to be pretty ideologically opposed on some matters (like feminism and women writers), and many of the essays in this collection just seem cranky and grumpy.

I do appreciate the beginning essays that discuss the influences and theoretical underpinnings of several of her early novels.



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Comments

[chelseagirl]

Hurrawy for normal lunches with new friend! My writing group is meeting in person on Monday (we've all been vaccinated at this point and the very last person is reaching the end of her two weeks after), although a couple of members will be joining us online. One lives on Long Island and is still nervous about taking the train to the city, and the other retreated with her husband to their house in Maine and doesn't currently have a place here, though they're moving back in the new year. But anyway . . . even my writing group is now "converged"!

[lunabee34]

I'm so happy for you. Meeting in person is really important.

*hugs*

I hope it's an excellent meeting.

[amejisuto]

It sounds as if your week has gone really well! Sorry about your garage door, but hey, at least it's fixed now. Glad to hear from you! I haven't been doing much so I've been quiet. Sorry about that.

[lunabee34]

*hugs*

Don't apologize; you never have to apologize for that. If I get worried, I will poke at you. LOL

I have had a really excellent week. I'm glad.

[amejisuto]

I'm glad too, you could use a good week!

[princessofgeeks]

Shopping! For fun! OMG I forgot all about that.

Great to talk to you. So glad you are moving about and in less pain.

ALL THE HUGS

[lunabee34]

*hugs*

Shopping for fun. It is a revelatory experience. LOL

[kat_lair]

Yay for moving more. I'm also upping on the activity, particularly walking, now that pain levels are down. And also yay for a bit of normality.

[lunabee34]

*high five*

I'm glad you're able to move more and hurt less, too. :)

[nyctanthes]

Today on my walk, a hawk flew low down to the ground ahead of me

That's awesome.

So glad to hear that pain levels are...manageable? Not absolutely dreadful!

[lunabee34]

So glad to hear that pain levels are...manageable? Not absolutely dreadful!

Oh, I see you want in on this sweet, sweet office poster action.

That one is perfect for sticking to the plexiglass wall of the pharmacy cashier.

Heeeeee.

I love all the birds here. It's a glorious cacophony of bird song all day long.

[aphrodite_mine]

I'm not in terrible pain! Just normal pain.

I love this for you!

[lunabee34]

*hugs*

Thank you.

[author_by_night]

Honestly, having read Possession it doesn't surprise me. Byatt strikes me as a very dry person.

We seem to be pretty ideologically opposed on some matters (like feminism and women writers),

In what way? Curious.

Normal hangouts are so nice.

[lunabee34]

I love Possession; it's probably my favorite book of all time. But I just cannot with the criticism. LOL

I don't have the book anymore; I took it back to the library so I can't quote from it directly, but it was just little comments about women's studies and the concept of women writers as a category being ridiculous and I just got the sense that she's totally on board with George Eliot's "Silly Women Novelists" essay. I want to say there was a part where she was talking about gendered language and was really derisive of gender inclusive language and indicated she fine with just using the default male. I don't remember what the word was, but like chairman instead of chair or chairperson.

[spikedluv]

Yay for walking and not hurting so much! And lunch out and shopping! That's awesome. *hugs*

[lunabee34]

I have been having a pretty good two weeks running here. It's been nice.

*hugs*

[china_shop]

*courtesy of china_shop; we're starting an office poster empire with this slogan LOL Seriously, this applies to all my health and food issues. I feel seen!

\o/! ♥ ♥ ♥

10K steps is amazing (and so many! I mean, I manage it sometimes, but it takes up such a big chunk of my day!). \o/

[lunabee34]

Heeee. Well, it didn't last long. Pretty much immediately after this post, it got hot as balls outside, so I've been concentrating on yoga instead. LOL

[china_shop]

Ha, well, yoga is good too! *\o/*