(no subject)
Jun. 2nd, 2025 07:57 am1. I absolutely adore my ridiculous children. Fiona is reading War and Peace. It's the book with the most AR points, and we kept telling her that she was probably not going to like it or understand it well, which just fueled her desire to read it more. Joke's on us, I guess, because she's moving through it a pretty fair clip, and while I'm certain that a significant amount of it is going over her head, she seems to be understanding the plot well enough (we debrief what everyone is reading over dinner every evening).
2.
A Century of Poems - TLS 100 by The Times Literary Supplement
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Well, this makes clear that I do not share taste in poetry with the editors of the Times Lierary Supplement, all however many of them served for the 20th century. Lol
So many war poems, which I get given the time period, but I am not a fan of most war poetry. Also so much rhyming, way more than I'd anticipated.
I did like some of the poems, but on the whole not for me.
View all my reviews
3.
( Scholomance by Naomi Novik--major spoilers )
4.
The Best Cook in the World by Rick Bragg
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I kept finding myself in the pages of this book as I read it. My people are not mountain Southern, but some things about being Southern are universal. The backstory of poverty and wringing a living out of the land with backbreaking work in Bragg's memoir could easily describe many aspects of the backstory on both side of my family. Most especially, though, reflected here is that truth that no matter how poor my grandparents were or how stingy my parents were when I was growing up to avoid poverty we still ate well. Like Bragg, my family was almost self-sustaining in eating what we grew, caught, and raised, and we ate like kings. Still do.
View all my reviews
5.
The Man Who Thought Himself a Woman and Other Queer Nineteenth-Century Short Stories by Christopher Looby
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This collection of short stories is divided into four sections: queer places, queer genders, queer attachments, and queer things. Most of the stories in the queer things section don't seem to be queer to me (especially the Melville one where the protagonist is obsessed with his chimney and the Hartman story where a little waif girl drowns herself in the sea). Many of these stories are sad and/or violent, but a few of them are happy and hopeful--notably the Walt Whitman and the Mary Wilkins Freeman. The titular story of the book is incredibly fascinating.
View all my reviews
I have a PDF copy of this book, so if you'd like to read me, PM me and I'll email it to you.
2.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Well, this makes clear that I do not share taste in poetry with the editors of the Times Lierary Supplement, all however many of them served for the 20th century. Lol
So many war poems, which I get given the time period, but I am not a fan of most war poetry. Also so much rhyming, way more than I'd anticipated.
I did like some of the poems, but on the whole not for me.
View all my reviews
3.
4.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I kept finding myself in the pages of this book as I read it. My people are not mountain Southern, but some things about being Southern are universal. The backstory of poverty and wringing a living out of the land with backbreaking work in Bragg's memoir could easily describe many aspects of the backstory on both side of my family. Most especially, though, reflected here is that truth that no matter how poor my grandparents were or how stingy my parents were when I was growing up to avoid poverty we still ate well. Like Bragg, my family was almost self-sustaining in eating what we grew, caught, and raised, and we ate like kings. Still do.
View all my reviews
5.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This collection of short stories is divided into four sections: queer places, queer genders, queer attachments, and queer things. Most of the stories in the queer things section don't seem to be queer to me (especially the Melville one where the protagonist is obsessed with his chimney and the Hartman story where a little waif girl drowns herself in the sea). Many of these stories are sad and/or violent, but a few of them are happy and hopeful--notably the Walt Whitman and the Mary Wilkins Freeman. The titular story of the book is incredibly fascinating.
View all my reviews
I have a PDF copy of this book, so if you'd like to read me, PM me and I'll email it to you.
1.
Lysistrata by Aristophanes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This translation is incredibly explicit--fair warning if you want to teach it.
View all my reviews
The students were quite good about the whole thing. Most of them thought the play was funny, there was participation in class discussion, and I even overheard a few of them saying they might want to write their papers about the play. No one spontaneously combusted or threatened to get me fired, so success!
2. Additional bookses
Draft No. 4: On the Writing Process by John McPhee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this for McPhee's stories about writing for the New Yorker and for the background on how he wrote his nonfiction books.
View all my reviews
Seaweed, a Cornish Idyll by Edith Ellis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is such a strange and wonderful book.
I didn't realize any Victorian novels blatantly discussed polyamory, but here we go.
Additional themes include the intersection of masculinity, desire, sex, and sexuality; traditional views of women vs seeing them as erotic beings; and marriage.
I really enjoyed this one.
View all my reviews
3. A rec
blood, love, and rhetoric by sourpastels
Stranger Things
Steve/Eddie
Glorious slow burn

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This translation is incredibly explicit--fair warning if you want to teach it.
View all my reviews
The students were quite good about the whole thing. Most of them thought the play was funny, there was participation in class discussion, and I even overheard a few of them saying they might want to write their papers about the play. No one spontaneously combusted or threatened to get me fired, so success!
2. Additional bookses

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I enjoyed this for McPhee's stories about writing for the New Yorker and for the background on how he wrote his nonfiction books.
View all my reviews

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is such a strange and wonderful book.
I didn't realize any Victorian novels blatantly discussed polyamory, but here we go.
Additional themes include the intersection of masculinity, desire, sex, and sexuality; traditional views of women vs seeing them as erotic beings; and marriage.
I really enjoyed this one.
View all my reviews
3. A rec
blood, love, and rhetoric by sourpastels
Stranger Things
Steve/Eddie
Glorious slow burn
1.
The Complete Poems 1927-1979 by Elizabeth Bishop
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I had only read Geography III before this and so didn't realize that Bishop is primarily a nature writer. Most of her poems contain beautiful nature imagery. There's a few clunkers in here, especially among the juvenalia, but overall a gorgeous and meaningful body of work.
View all my reviews
Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto by Kevin M. Gannon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
In many ways, this is a companion piece to Cate Denial's Pedagogy of Kindness. It argues for teaching in ways that cultivate hope in our students and in ourselves by foregrounding accessibility, engagement, and kindness in the way that Denial defines it.
View all my reviews

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I had only read Geography III before this and so didn't realize that Bishop is primarily a nature writer. Most of her poems contain beautiful nature imagery. There's a few clunkers in here, especially among the juvenalia, but overall a gorgeous and meaningful body of work.
View all my reviews

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
In many ways, this is a companion piece to Cate Denial's Pedagogy of Kindness. It argues for teaching in ways that cultivate hope in our students and in ourselves by foregrounding accessibility, engagement, and kindness in the way that Denial defines it.
View all my reviews
Thursday continues apace
Jan. 30th, 2025 12:21 pm1. I am still reading an ungodly amount of Stranger Things fic, and y'all it's so funny reading through the fandom sorted by kudos. I'm on page 23 now, and it's killing me how many of the writers for this fandom are clearly British. It's all boot and mum and maths. Like an overwhelming preponderance that is frankly bizarre by numbers. Also, the punctuation of dialogue is a crime against humanity. So much
"I am very metal." Said Eddie. "Why yes you are metal, my doe-eyed sweetheart." Replied Steve.
And this atrocious punctuation occurs in otherwise excellent stories--good, plotty, angsty, wonderful stories. I have learned to just let my eyes slide right over it and quell the urge to grab a red pen.
Everyone has doe eyes. So many pet names. LOL
2. Josh's dad has found an apartment. He's moving in on February 15. It doesn't feel real. There's still a lot to do to get him there.
3.
Chronically Magickal: Navigating Chronic Illness with Witchcraft by Danielle Dionne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This contains a lot of practical, hands-on information about what witchcraft actually looks like. Reading books that are more about the history or the cultural context didn't give me a good idea of what practicing witchcraft on a daily basis would actually look like, but this book is very helpful for envisioning that.
View all my reviews
4. ETA: I talked to my parents earlier this week for the first time since Christmas; I called because it was my mom's birthday. It was awkward and stilted. I keep mourning that relationship, which makes me feel stupid, because I KNEW they were like this and thought those things, but hearing it said blatantly out loud made it different for some reason. Dylan called them for the first time this week as well and said they were very careful when talking with them like they realized they had to be.
"I am very metal." Said Eddie. "Why yes you are metal, my doe-eyed sweetheart." Replied Steve.
And this atrocious punctuation occurs in otherwise excellent stories--good, plotty, angsty, wonderful stories. I have learned to just let my eyes slide right over it and quell the urge to grab a red pen.
Everyone has doe eyes. So many pet names. LOL
2. Josh's dad has found an apartment. He's moving in on February 15. It doesn't feel real. There's still a lot to do to get him there.
3.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This contains a lot of practical, hands-on information about what witchcraft actually looks like. Reading books that are more about the history or the cultural context didn't give me a good idea of what practicing witchcraft on a daily basis would actually look like, but this book is very helpful for envisioning that.
View all my reviews
4. ETA: I talked to my parents earlier this week for the first time since Christmas; I called because it was my mom's birthday. It was awkward and stilted. I keep mourning that relationship, which makes me feel stupid, because I KNEW they were like this and thought those things, but hearing it said blatantly out loud made it different for some reason. Dylan called them for the first time this week as well and said they were very careful when talking with them like they realized they had to be.
(no subject)
Jan. 4th, 2025 07:35 pm1. I got a card from
talitha78. Thank you!
2. My 2024 in books from Goodreads
I read 72 books in 2024. Go, me!
3. And here's the first books of 2025:
The Best American Poetry 2002 by Robert Creeley
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Robert Creeley and I clearly do not share taste in poetry. LOL
View all my reviews
The New Yorker - The Fragrance Foundation Book of Cartoons by Luxe Pack New York
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
As with any set of New Yorker cartoons, I didn't get some of them, but on the whole, these are pretty funny.
View all my reviews
Witches Among Us: Understanding Contemporary Witchcraft and Wicca by Thorn Mooney
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is really informative and accessible, especially for people who know very little about witchcraft and Wicca. Mooney spends a lot of time contextualizing and defining terms. She also provides an excellent list of scholarly resources as well as resources from within the community for further understanding.
View all my reviews
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
2. My 2024 in books from Goodreads
I read 72 books in 2024. Go, me!
3. And here's the first books of 2025:

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Robert Creeley and I clearly do not share taste in poetry. LOL
View all my reviews

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
As with any set of New Yorker cartoons, I didn't get some of them, but on the whole, these are pretty funny.
View all my reviews

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is really informative and accessible, especially for people who know very little about witchcraft and Wicca. Mooney spends a lot of time contextualizing and defining terms. She also provides an excellent list of scholarly resources as well as resources from within the community for further understanding.
View all my reviews
(no subject)
Nov. 15th, 2024 05:49 am1. Good news re: Josh's parents--
The estate sale went well, and we made a couple grand.
Josh's dad remembered that they have a $1300 credit at their dentist. I'm not exactly sure how this credit was accrued, but it has something to do with his parents having dental insurance but still paying full price for procedures (which, WTF?). So, he called the dentist, and they're sending him a check for the credit.
One of the people at the estate sale offered to buy the house immediately with cash. The offer was our minimum acceptable price, so the realtor is still going to put the house on the market because he thinks we can get more, but it's nice to have this fall back. We'd already had interest in buying the house from the plumber who came to work on the house over the summer and from Tom's doctor, weirdly enough. So I think the house is going to sell and soon.
2.
How to Dress a Fish by Abigail Chabitnoy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This poetry collection is about Chabitnoy attempting to come to terms with the time her great-grandfather spent in a residential school for native children and also her identity as a person with both indigenous and white roots.
I particularly like that the poems span a range of styles, including snippets from government documents and translations of primary texts.
3.
Jane's Fame: How Jane Austen Conquered the World by Claire Harman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I think it's fascinating how little we truly know about Austen's life and how so much of her image has been fashioned by other people.
Good reading for a Janeite.
View all my reviews
View all my reviews
The estate sale went well, and we made a couple grand.
Josh's dad remembered that they have a $1300 credit at their dentist. I'm not exactly sure how this credit was accrued, but it has something to do with his parents having dental insurance but still paying full price for procedures (which, WTF?). So, he called the dentist, and they're sending him a check for the credit.
One of the people at the estate sale offered to buy the house immediately with cash. The offer was our minimum acceptable price, so the realtor is still going to put the house on the market because he thinks we can get more, but it's nice to have this fall back. We'd already had interest in buying the house from the plumber who came to work on the house over the summer and from Tom's doctor, weirdly enough. So I think the house is going to sell and soon.
2.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This poetry collection is about Chabitnoy attempting to come to terms with the time her great-grandfather spent in a residential school for native children and also her identity as a person with both indigenous and white roots.
I particularly like that the poems span a range of styles, including snippets from government documents and translations of primary texts.
3.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I think it's fascinating how little we truly know about Austen's life and how so much of her image has been fashioned by other people.
Good reading for a Janeite.
View all my reviews
View all my reviews
Brief update
Nov. 4th, 2024 05:28 pm1. Josh has spent the past two weekends traveling back to Jackson to engage a realtor and a company that does estate sales. This most recent weekend was devoted to making sure he'd gotten absolutely everything out of the house the family wants. The sale should start this Wednesday, and then the house goes on the market.
We don't expect to make any money out of this; part of the estate sale service is that the company clears out and cleans out the house, so this means that Josh never has to go back there again and that we don't have to deal with anything in that house ever again.
The realtor feels pretty confident the house will sell, so it could happen as quickly as December, but I think the spring semester is more realistic. It's always been my goal to have him to TN by the end of the spring semester, so any time sooner than that is a win.
2. Halloween: Fiona wore a replica of Scarlett's dress from the barbecue scene and had her hair up in ribbons. It was perfect weather, didn't even need a jacket, and much candy was obtained.
3. After I asked you all for self-care recs, one of the things I did was buy some incense. And, y'all, it is glorious. Like OMG. It smells expensive, it is packaged beautifully--can't rec enough: Optatum Cedarwood and Hinoki.
4.
Second Reading: Notable and Neglected Books Revisited by Jonathan Yardley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I haven't read most of the books that Yardley reviews in this collection, but seeing where our opinions diverge and coincide on books I have read is interesting. And reading this book has made my to-read list a bit longer. :)
View all my reviews
5.
Love-Acre: An Idyl in Two Worlds by H. Havelock Ellis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Goodreads incorrectly attributes this book to Havelock Ellis when it was actually written by his wife, Edith Ellis.
It is an incredibly mystical and allegorical book that follows the short life of a young man who is in touch with the supernatural and maligned and misunderstood as a result.
I have to admit that I have a hard time understanding just what Ellis intends to convey through Tobias's story. The condemnation of Christian hypocrisy is clear to me as is the condemnation of small-town politics and small-mindedness. But what she intends to say through his commune with fairies or his mystical communications with blades of grass, I'm much less sure about.
The novel reminds me a lot of Kingsley's The Water-Babies, not for messaging, but for sheer weirdness of content.
View all my reviews
I read this book for the VPFA's Third Sex Reading Group. I have to say that I do not understand how this fits into theme of the reading group--there's no queer content that I can discern. I'll report back after our meeting.
We don't expect to make any money out of this; part of the estate sale service is that the company clears out and cleans out the house, so this means that Josh never has to go back there again and that we don't have to deal with anything in that house ever again.
The realtor feels pretty confident the house will sell, so it could happen as quickly as December, but I think the spring semester is more realistic. It's always been my goal to have him to TN by the end of the spring semester, so any time sooner than that is a win.
2. Halloween: Fiona wore a replica of Scarlett's dress from the barbecue scene and had her hair up in ribbons. It was perfect weather, didn't even need a jacket, and much candy was obtained.
3. After I asked you all for self-care recs, one of the things I did was buy some incense. And, y'all, it is glorious. Like OMG. It smells expensive, it is packaged beautifully--can't rec enough: Optatum Cedarwood and Hinoki.
4.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I haven't read most of the books that Yardley reviews in this collection, but seeing where our opinions diverge and coincide on books I have read is interesting. And reading this book has made my to-read list a bit longer. :)
View all my reviews
5.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Goodreads incorrectly attributes this book to Havelock Ellis when it was actually written by his wife, Edith Ellis.
It is an incredibly mystical and allegorical book that follows the short life of a young man who is in touch with the supernatural and maligned and misunderstood as a result.
I have to admit that I have a hard time understanding just what Ellis intends to convey through Tobias's story. The condemnation of Christian hypocrisy is clear to me as is the condemnation of small-town politics and small-mindedness. But what she intends to say through his commune with fairies or his mystical communications with blades of grass, I'm much less sure about.
The novel reminds me a lot of Kingsley's The Water-Babies, not for messaging, but for sheer weirdness of content.
View all my reviews
I read this book for the VPFA's Third Sex Reading Group. I have to say that I do not understand how this fits into theme of the reading group--there's no queer content that I can discern. I'll report back after our meeting.
(no subject)
Aug. 24th, 2024 06:06 am1. My Aunt Gail died yesterday.
( cancer talk )
2.
Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Look, I get it. Once upon a time, the idea of going into a bookstore and picking up a volume off the shelf and encountering deliberately, egregiously gross descriptions of sex and women's bodies and the writer's own body and bodily functions in general must have seemed truly revolutionary and novel. Now the sort of writing in Miller's magnus opus just seems utterly juvenile, like a teenage boy trying out all the pee pee and poo poo words he's amassed over the course of his adolescence. I'm not shocked, Henry Miller, nor do I think you are, as Ken Shapiro states in the intro to this volume, the GOAT. I think you are funny at times and crass at all times and boring a lot of the time.
Also bonus racism I'd forgotten about from my first read 20+ years ago.
View all my reviews
3.
How to Keep House While Drowning by K.C. Davis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a book about self-care and letting go of shame around cleaning and other tasks. It contains a lot of hacks for people who struggle with housework, meal planning, and hygiene tasks because of depression or executive function issues.
View all my reviews
2.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Look, I get it. Once upon a time, the idea of going into a bookstore and picking up a volume off the shelf and encountering deliberately, egregiously gross descriptions of sex and women's bodies and the writer's own body and bodily functions in general must have seemed truly revolutionary and novel. Now the sort of writing in Miller's magnus opus just seems utterly juvenile, like a teenage boy trying out all the pee pee and poo poo words he's amassed over the course of his adolescence. I'm not shocked, Henry Miller, nor do I think you are, as Ken Shapiro states in the intro to this volume, the GOAT. I think you are funny at times and crass at all times and boring a lot of the time.
Also bonus racism I'd forgotten about from my first read 20+ years ago.
View all my reviews
3.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a book about self-care and letting go of shame around cleaning and other tasks. It contains a lot of hacks for people who struggle with housework, meal planning, and hygiene tasks because of depression or executive function issues.
View all my reviews
Reading Wednesday
Aug. 7th, 2024 05:26 pm
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is . . . a really weird book, and I don't know what to think about it.
The basic premise (and it's not spoiling anything to say this because Ehrenreich tells you this in the first chapter) is that she has an experience she can't explain as a late teen and continues to periodically have similar experiences throughout her life though none with the intensity of that first instance.
The book uses a journal she wrote starting when she was 12 and going through her undergraduate degree to help her construct the narrative, and part of the weirdness of this book is the erudition of the journal and discussion in it of what she was reading. I mean, I don't think she's lying about it because the journal exists and she can just show it to people to prove that as a thirteen year old she really was writing disquisitions on the existential meaning of life and Camus or whatever. But it's just weird to read that level of intellectual prowess in the journal entries from someone that age when I struggle to get my college students to successfully read Kant. LOL
I appreciate that she comes to the conclusion that connecting to other people is the answer to her existential questions, but the conclusion of the book is so abrupt and also, well, weird. She spends the whole book being uber rational and scientific and exploring all kinds of explanations for her experience, including dissociation because of her abusive family (which I think, honestly, is the most likely explanation), only to end the book in the last like ten pages by saying she's now not really an atheist and thinks there's an Other out there that she connected with. I think that's actually a fine conclusion to come to; it's just that she doesn't spend enough time on it compared on the 200+ previous pages of how nothing like that could be possible for the argument to be successful.
View all my reviews
And on the day
Feb. 14th, 2024 05:59 am1.
misbegotten got me flowers for Valentine's Day! They are on my desk at work, and they make my office so cheerful. <3
2. January books:
Fairy Tales and After: From Snow White to E. B. White by Roger Sale
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This is a whole hot mess. This is the kind of "literary criticism" that drives me bonkers, the sort where the writer makes confident pronouncements about authors' psychology and desires and abilities with zero support. I mean, there is a certain degree of subjectivity inherent in literary criticism, but good literary criticism is not, "Golly, gee, I really do like this and really don't like that." The best literary criticism is close reading of texts and examination of themes and perhaps literary influences on an author and the cultural/historical context that influences a piece of writing. Sale says the most ridiculous things about these authors. Complete anti-rec.
View all my reviews
Francois Coty: Fragrance, Power, Money by Roulhac B. Toledano
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is an interesting read for a variety of reasons. First, I knew nothing about Coty the man or Coty the perfume empire before reading this biography; Coty's influence on perfume--in terms of creating scents; bottling, marketing, and selling them; and including them in cosmetic products--cannot be overstated.
The biography is written by two people, one of them the former wife (Elizabeth) of Coty's grandson. Her involvement in the project is interesting. Because Coty divorced his wife and she took him for half his fortune, she ended up with the Coty perfume empire; however, the man she remarried sold it to Pfizer, and one of the stipulations of the sale was that no Coty could ever work for the company again. So one of Elizabeth's clearly stated motivations throughout the book is to reclaim an inheritance that she feels has been stolen from her child and the other Coty heirs. Along with that, though, I get the sense that Elizabeth genuinely admires Coty and his perfumes and is fascinated with his intellectual achievements beyond their family connection. One textual feature of the book that annoyed me while reading is that Elizabeth's writing is italicized, and Toledano's is not, but I didn't realize that at first because Elizabeth's opening Preface is not italicized; her writing isn't italicized until the book proper begins, and it's interspersed with Toledano's. So at first, I thought her writing was just quotations, and it took me a few pages to figure out what was going on.
The book doesn't shy away from discussing Coty's infidelity or his antisemitism at length; while his antisemitism is never excused, it's hard not to come away from the book with the sense that Elizabeth believes that the infidelity is excusable, especially since she characterizes her divorce from Michel, Coty's grandson, as a mistake she made when she discovered his infidelity. She implies that she should have stayed married to him despite his infidelity, and she implies that Yvonne should have stayed married to Coty, especially since their divorce led to the ultimate ruin of the perfume empire.
Another thing I didn't like about the book is that I wanted pictures of the original Baccarat and Lalique perfume bottles and had to look those up on google instead. I did appreciate many of the pictures included, but I really wanted to see those most of all.
I definitely think this is worth a read.
View all my reviews
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
2. January books:

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This is a whole hot mess. This is the kind of "literary criticism" that drives me bonkers, the sort where the writer makes confident pronouncements about authors' psychology and desires and abilities with zero support. I mean, there is a certain degree of subjectivity inherent in literary criticism, but good literary criticism is not, "Golly, gee, I really do like this and really don't like that." The best literary criticism is close reading of texts and examination of themes and perhaps literary influences on an author and the cultural/historical context that influences a piece of writing. Sale says the most ridiculous things about these authors. Complete anti-rec.
View all my reviews

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is an interesting read for a variety of reasons. First, I knew nothing about Coty the man or Coty the perfume empire before reading this biography; Coty's influence on perfume--in terms of creating scents; bottling, marketing, and selling them; and including them in cosmetic products--cannot be overstated.
The biography is written by two people, one of them the former wife (Elizabeth) of Coty's grandson. Her involvement in the project is interesting. Because Coty divorced his wife and she took him for half his fortune, she ended up with the Coty perfume empire; however, the man she remarried sold it to Pfizer, and one of the stipulations of the sale was that no Coty could ever work for the company again. So one of Elizabeth's clearly stated motivations throughout the book is to reclaim an inheritance that she feels has been stolen from her child and the other Coty heirs. Along with that, though, I get the sense that Elizabeth genuinely admires Coty and his perfumes and is fascinated with his intellectual achievements beyond their family connection. One textual feature of the book that annoyed me while reading is that Elizabeth's writing is italicized, and Toledano's is not, but I didn't realize that at first because Elizabeth's opening Preface is not italicized; her writing isn't italicized until the book proper begins, and it's interspersed with Toledano's. So at first, I thought her writing was just quotations, and it took me a few pages to figure out what was going on.
The book doesn't shy away from discussing Coty's infidelity or his antisemitism at length; while his antisemitism is never excused, it's hard not to come away from the book with the sense that Elizabeth believes that the infidelity is excusable, especially since she characterizes her divorce from Michel, Coty's grandson, as a mistake she made when she discovered his infidelity. She implies that she should have stayed married to him despite his infidelity, and she implies that Yvonne should have stayed married to Coty, especially since their divorce led to the ultimate ruin of the perfume empire.
Another thing I didn't like about the book is that I wanted pictures of the original Baccarat and Lalique perfume bottles and had to look those up on google instead. I did appreciate many of the pictures included, but I really wanted to see those most of all.
I definitely think this is worth a read.
View all my reviews
1. Hi, kids. Don't be me.
Josh is all the way better. I am so relieved. However, while he was sick, I basically did nothing but keep the house and kids afloat and catch up on the grading I didn't do while I was at my parents'. I was recovering physically from the trip, so it was basically sleep, grade, sleep, chores, sleep, cook, sleep, grade, sleep--you get the picture. The kids helped so much; I am so glad they are old enough that lots of these tasks can be delegated to them and that I don't have to play with them when I really can't. However, what this means is that I did not write the conference paper I was supposed to be writing this summer. The paper I am presenting this Friday. Aahhahhahahhahahah.
So, I started working on that this weekend. I already had all the research compiled, and with the exception of one book (review below), I'd already read it all before; I just need to go back through it looking for this different purpose. So I did all that over the weekend and Monday, wrote half the paper yesterday, and will finish the second half today when the first day of the conference is over (the joy of an international conference is that it's over at noon! the despair is that the first session this morning started at 4:30!). I'm not worried about finishing it or about the quality; the writing is going fine, and I'm pleased with it.
However . . .
2. This summer was supposed to be about me resting and recharging and rejuvenating and getting to a place where I'm not procrastinating all the time. And it's actually getting WORSE!
I am not a procrastinator. This is not me. I am a do-aheader. I am a 15 minutes early is on time kinda gal. I hate this.
I thought about going back to work a few days ago and nearly burst into tears. *sigh*
3. Here's some good stuff to read.
( some several things )
Josh is all the way better. I am so relieved. However, while he was sick, I basically did nothing but keep the house and kids afloat and catch up on the grading I didn't do while I was at my parents'. I was recovering physically from the trip, so it was basically sleep, grade, sleep, chores, sleep, cook, sleep, grade, sleep--you get the picture. The kids helped so much; I am so glad they are old enough that lots of these tasks can be delegated to them and that I don't have to play with them when I really can't. However, what this means is that I did not write the conference paper I was supposed to be writing this summer. The paper I am presenting this Friday. Aahhahhahahhahahah.
So, I started working on that this weekend. I already had all the research compiled, and with the exception of one book (review below), I'd already read it all before; I just need to go back through it looking for this different purpose. So I did all that over the weekend and Monday, wrote half the paper yesterday, and will finish the second half today when the first day of the conference is over (the joy of an international conference is that it's over at noon! the despair is that the first session this morning started at 4:30!). I'm not worried about finishing it or about the quality; the writing is going fine, and I'm pleased with it.
However . . .
2. This summer was supposed to be about me resting and recharging and rejuvenating and getting to a place where I'm not procrastinating all the time. And it's actually getting WORSE!
I am not a procrastinator. This is not me. I am a do-aheader. I am a 15 minutes early is on time kinda gal. I hate this.
I thought about going back to work a few days ago and nearly burst into tears. *sigh*
3. Here's some good stuff to read.
three for wednesday
Jun. 21st, 2023 06:11 am1. Josh got sick on my birthday, so we weren't able to Go To Town and have a date like we'd planned, but the kids gave me the sweetest gifts--some stickers, an emery board shaped like a cat, purple paperclips, and a collection of face masks.
2.
gloss wrote me the splendor splits, a genderbent Moths AU that is pushing all my buttons. Go read!
3.
Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Boswell really sets the conventions for the genre of biography. He's biased; he wants to present his friend, mentor, and pseudo-father in the best light. But he also is committed to what he sees as truth--revealing the truth about Johnson even when it is not flattering or might even be something Johnson wouldn't have wanted revealed. I also am impressed by his commitment to citing his sources, to including letters, to speaking to the people involved in situations, and to avoiding speculation about people's motivations or their thoughts as much as possible. His bio is so much better researched and cited than many early 20th-century bios that don't cite sources or which endlessly and baselessly speculate or psychoanalyze (I'm thinking of Ouida's various biographers here). And especially early 20th-century literary criticism that will just quote someone with no attribution or say the quote is by that esteemed Chalmundey as if I'm supposed to know who that is or when or where or under what circumstances the illustrious Chalmundey uttered this wisdom. So frustrating.
I find both Boswell and Johnson sexist and racist at times. While Johnson is pro-abolition, Boswell is pro-slavery. Both of them, however, are convinced of the inferiority of people who aren't white. I also find their treatment of Mrs. Thrale pretty infuriating. I don't think Johnson ever thought to marry her, but all his friends pretty clearly thought he'd marry her after Mr. Thrale died, and even if Johnson had no aspirations of marrying her, he clearly thought he was going to continue as a member of her household until he died and she and her daughters would caretake for him. Who can blame the woman for remarrying when she fell in love again? And who can blame her for not wanting to spend however many years caretaking for a difficult man she wasn't even related to who spent a lot of time criticizing her and belittling women in general? It's truly a mystery. LOL
On the whole, though, the deep friendship between Boswell and Johnson is endearing to read about as is Boswell's genuine joy at being chosen to be the dearest friend of such a literary lion.
View all my reviews
2.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
3.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Boswell really sets the conventions for the genre of biography. He's biased; he wants to present his friend, mentor, and pseudo-father in the best light. But he also is committed to what he sees as truth--revealing the truth about Johnson even when it is not flattering or might even be something Johnson wouldn't have wanted revealed. I also am impressed by his commitment to citing his sources, to including letters, to speaking to the people involved in situations, and to avoiding speculation about people's motivations or their thoughts as much as possible. His bio is so much better researched and cited than many early 20th-century bios that don't cite sources or which endlessly and baselessly speculate or psychoanalyze (I'm thinking of Ouida's various biographers here). And especially early 20th-century literary criticism that will just quote someone with no attribution or say the quote is by that esteemed Chalmundey as if I'm supposed to know who that is or when or where or under what circumstances the illustrious Chalmundey uttered this wisdom. So frustrating.
I find both Boswell and Johnson sexist and racist at times. While Johnson is pro-abolition, Boswell is pro-slavery. Both of them, however, are convinced of the inferiority of people who aren't white. I also find their treatment of Mrs. Thrale pretty infuriating. I don't think Johnson ever thought to marry her, but all his friends pretty clearly thought he'd marry her after Mr. Thrale died, and even if Johnson had no aspirations of marrying her, he clearly thought he was going to continue as a member of her household until he died and she and her daughters would caretake for him. Who can blame the woman for remarrying when she fell in love again? And who can blame her for not wanting to spend however many years caretaking for a difficult man she wasn't even related to who spent a lot of time criticizing her and belittling women in general? It's truly a mystery. LOL
On the whole, though, the deep friendship between Boswell and Johnson is endearing to read about as is Boswell's genuine joy at being chosen to be the dearest friend of such a literary lion.
View all my reviews
1.
( cut for discussion of physical and mental health )
2. Josh is having surgery on the bottom of his foot on July 10. We thought he had a ganglion cyst, but after the whole X-Ray/MRI rigamarole, turns out he has a torn tendon that needs surgical repair. He'll have to stay completely off the foot for 3 weeks following the surgery. That is going to be interesting.
3. I have continued to receive incredibly generous birthday gifts.
misbegotten sent me some Sharpie S-gel pens (so smooth!) and a book about living with chronic pain (review below!) and
executrix sent me some more books and a collection of lip gloss.
I had a birthday party with my RL friends and received glorious stationery items and a gift card for books and a beautiful napkin holder I've been coveting for some time.
A dear fandom friend (if they wish to can identify themselves) sent me enough money to fill my Nurtec RX. Y'all, I cried and cried when I opened that card. I am surrounded by such kindness and generosity and love. I am so grateful, always.
4.
( so much reading, so eclectic )
2. Josh is having surgery on the bottom of his foot on July 10. We thought he had a ganglion cyst, but after the whole X-Ray/MRI rigamarole, turns out he has a torn tendon that needs surgical repair. He'll have to stay completely off the foot for 3 weeks following the surgery. That is going to be interesting.
3. I have continued to receive incredibly generous birthday gifts.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
I had a birthday party with my RL friends and received glorious stationery items and a gift card for books and a beautiful napkin holder I've been coveting for some time.
A dear fandom friend (if they wish to can identify themselves) sent me enough money to fill my Nurtec RX. Y'all, I cried and cried when I opened that card. I am surrounded by such kindness and generosity and love. I am so grateful, always.
4.
Saturday, yay
May. 27th, 2023 07:20 am1. I got a gift card from
spikedluv to the Laurel Mercantile store, the online store of the couple who does the Home Town TV show on HGTV. The Savannah candle is on its way to my house! <3
2. The conference went off without a hitch. It's the first conference we've had since I became president and started coordinating almost 10 years ago in which every single presenter showed up. LOL There's usually at least one person who just no shows. We also had our first international presenters (from Greece and China), so that was an excellent first!
3. I got my class up on time, and I think it's going to be great. It's British and American poetry through an ecocritical lens, so we're starting with the usual suspects--the Romantics and Transcendentalists--but then we're going to get to the fun stuff. LOL I'm doing this class with a creative project instead of a research paper, so I'm excited about that, too. I usually get really fun and interesting work for the project, and it's not the same boring old research paper.
4.
( reading )
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
2. The conference went off without a hitch. It's the first conference we've had since I became president and started coordinating almost 10 years ago in which every single presenter showed up. LOL There's usually at least one person who just no shows. We also had our first international presenters (from Greece and China), so that was an excellent first!
3. I got my class up on time, and I think it's going to be great. It's British and American poetry through an ecocritical lens, so we're starting with the usual suspects--the Romantics and Transcendentalists--but then we're going to get to the fun stuff. LOL I'm doing this class with a creative project instead of a research paper, so I'm excited about that, too. I usually get really fun and interesting work for the project, and it's not the same boring old research paper.
4.
So, it's April
Apr. 7th, 2023 07:10 amIt's come to my attention that I've posted six times this year, and five of those were in January. So, ah, hi! :)
I've had some very good news in the last couple of weeks. I've been promoted to Professor. *takes a bow*
And last night I won the Excellence in Service Award for my institution. For those of you not in academia, this award recognizes service to the institution (things like serving on committees), service to the community (community outreach and projects, etc.), and service to the profession (leadership positions in professional organizations, editorial positions on journals, etc.)--and I am highly active in all three areas. Super, super prestigious thing at our institution; I am very honored. I also exceeded expectations on all areas of my annual evaluation. So, hurray, me!
In other good news, I got an email from a guy in California whose mother had died and left behind a shelf of books by Ouida. He'd been googling to figure out who might want them and came upon my name. So, Frank in California gifted me a box of books by Ouida that his mother bought in Bury St. Edmunds, Ouida's birthplace, in the 80s. They arrived earlier this week. What an unexpected and deeply kind act of generosity. I am so grateful.
Here's what I've reading since we last spoke:
( badly researched religious book my mom gave me )
( Victorian literary criticism )
( Judy Blume )
( MISC )
I've had some very good news in the last couple of weeks. I've been promoted to Professor. *takes a bow*
And last night I won the Excellence in Service Award for my institution. For those of you not in academia, this award recognizes service to the institution (things like serving on committees), service to the community (community outreach and projects, etc.), and service to the profession (leadership positions in professional organizations, editorial positions on journals, etc.)--and I am highly active in all three areas. Super, super prestigious thing at our institution; I am very honored. I also exceeded expectations on all areas of my annual evaluation. So, hurray, me!
In other good news, I got an email from a guy in California whose mother had died and left behind a shelf of books by Ouida. He'd been googling to figure out who might want them and came upon my name. So, Frank in California gifted me a box of books by Ouida that his mother bought in Bury St. Edmunds, Ouida's birthplace, in the 80s. They arrived earlier this week. What an unexpected and deeply kind act of generosity. I am so grateful.
Here's what I've reading since we last spoke:
Reading and Watching
Jan. 6th, 2023 09:18 am1. Christmas card from
trobadora! <3
2.
( some stuff what I have been reading: one book of lit crit and 2 short story collections )
I think Impure Worlds is worth reading for the two chapters on Huck Finn, both of which do an excellent job of explaining why the book has value but is also an offensive read for many African Americans and why it's not a good book to force K-12 students to read for that reason when many other books can do the same valuable work. Those two chapters are 5 star chapters; the rest of the book brings the rating down.
3. I really struggle to watch TV anymore, but we watched Glass Onion a couple days ago, and oh I'm so glad we did. First, what an excellent cast. Wow.
( spoilers )
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
2.
I think Impure Worlds is worth reading for the two chapters on Huck Finn, both of which do an excellent job of explaining why the book has value but is also an offensive read for many African Americans and why it's not a good book to force K-12 students to read for that reason when many other books can do the same valuable work. Those two chapters are 5 star chapters; the rest of the book brings the rating down.
3. I really struggle to watch TV anymore, but we watched Glass Onion a couple days ago, and oh I'm so glad we did. First, what an excellent cast. Wow.
You should read
Oct. 12th, 2022 06:25 am1. Okefenokee: Heavy and Precious by Janisse Ray
in The Bitter Southerner
You can also click just under the first picture and scroll down to hear Janisse read the article.
I am an enormous fan of Janisse's writing, and this is a wonderful introduction if you have never read her work before. The photography is exquisite as well.
2. The Irresistible Blueberry Farm by
anagrrl
SGA
Lorne/Parrish
anagrrl wrote this for me after a delightful conversation in which she revealed that the actor who plays Lorne has starred in numerous Hallmark movies, one of which is called The Irresistible Blueberry Farm. LOL
in The Bitter Southerner
You can also click just under the first picture and scroll down to hear Janisse read the article.
I am an enormous fan of Janisse's writing, and this is a wonderful introduction if you have never read her work before. The photography is exquisite as well.
2. The Irresistible Blueberry Farm by
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
SGA
Lorne/Parrish
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
proof of life post
Oct. 4th, 2022 06:39 am1.
( things what I have read, including Paterson and the second Escape to the Chateau book )
2. I belong to a reading group sponsored by the Victorian Popular Fiction Association called the Third Sex Reading Group; it reads books from the long 19th century about LGBTQA+ issues. I attended for the first time this September, and it was a fantastic experience. One of the editors of this book, Margaret Breen, participated in the session and talked about her experience tracking down biographical details of Duc and the process of translating the work.
Are They Women?: A Novel Concerning the Third Sex by Aimée Duc
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
As a novel, this is pretty terrible. Not much plot to speak of. Everyone just sits around and pontificates about the nature of women and same-sex attraction. However, as a window into 19th-century arguments about gender, marriage, and sexuality, it is invaluable and utterly fascinating.
View all my reviews
3. Go read Romancing the Beast: Embracing Monstrousness in Romantic SFF by Victoria Janssen, an excellent essay about writing romance into speculative fiction.
4. Go read I've seen your face before, my friend, but I don't know if you know who I am by HMSLusitania
Stranger Things
26952 words
Time travel fix-it fic
Eddie/Steve
2. I belong to a reading group sponsored by the Victorian Popular Fiction Association called the Third Sex Reading Group; it reads books from the long 19th century about LGBTQA+ issues. I attended for the first time this September, and it was a fantastic experience. One of the editors of this book, Margaret Breen, participated in the session and talked about her experience tracking down biographical details of Duc and the process of translating the work.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
As a novel, this is pretty terrible. Not much plot to speak of. Everyone just sits around and pontificates about the nature of women and same-sex attraction. However, as a window into 19th-century arguments about gender, marriage, and sexuality, it is invaluable and utterly fascinating.
View all my reviews
3. Go read Romancing the Beast: Embracing Monstrousness in Romantic SFF by Victoria Janssen, an excellent essay about writing romance into speculative fiction.
4. Go read I've seen your face before, my friend, but I don't know if you know who I am by HMSLusitania
Stranger Things
26952 words
Time travel fix-it fic
Eddie/Steve