lunabee34

1.

Lysistrata by Aristophanes

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This translation is incredibly explicit--fair warning if you want to teach it.



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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.



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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.



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3. A rec

blood, love, and rhetoric by sourpastels
Stranger Things
Steve/Eddie
Glorious slow burn

1. 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.



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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.

1. 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.



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1. 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.



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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.



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1. 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.




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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.



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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 )

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 )

It'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 )

1. 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