William Thackery Wrap-up '15

London circa 1800

Well, I jumped up and down and made all sorts of celebratory sounds when I finished Vanity Fair this evening... not at all because I didn't enjoy the book, just that it was so long! I'm not accustomed to reading that length of book in one month. 

I really loved the book, and found it gripping if not suspenseful! Maybe some may disagree? I loved Thackeray's extensive vocabulary and his wise, sometimes tangetial asides as the all-knowing storyteller were insightful. 

We must bring up character names. Lord Tapeworm? Ladies Hornblower and Sheepshanks? Lord Heehaw? And there's another really good one which I can't remember... but Monica and I were just talking about it today so I'm sure she'll tell us! 

The author seemed partial to all his characters, and although some were definately better people than others, there were times when he seemed to favour the bad... Rebecca Sharp/Crawley. Or maybe just admire her spunk and intelligence and sympathize with her?

Please tell us what you think of this book (or another of Thackeray's novels if  you read a different one!) I can't wait to hear your thoughts!!!

Here's a few quotes I liked:

" This, dear friends and companions, is my amiable object- to walk with you through the Fair, to examine the shops and shows there; and that we should all come home after the flare, and the noise, and the gaity, and be perfectly miserable in private."

"Time has deat kindly with that stout officer, as it does ordinarily with men who have good stomachs and good tempers, and are not perplexed overmuch by fatigue of the brain". {Said of Colonol Sir Michael O'Dowd}

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I'm all tuckered out from a few curling games this evening! I was invited by my sister and brother in law to play with them in a "bonspiel" at the local curling club. We played three games and won one of them! And I got a parking ticket. Grr. 

One reason Daniel is good for me is that he is sensible and never lets me park in a spot where I could get a ticket even when I say "but it's only for a couple minutes", or "but I've never had a probem here before", or in this case "it is a residential parking spot but the houses around it are under construction so no one will care". Turns out they do. Maybe I shouldn't drive anywhere when Daniel is away for the weekend. 

Have a good day wherever you are!

xo

January '15 William Thackeray

Happy 2015! 

Here are our options for this month! I am just starting Vanity Fair... really looking forward to getting more into it. 

William Makepeace Thackeray

Pendennis
Henry Esmond
Vanity Fair
The Virginians

PS- above is a snapshot of the German Christmas Market (all the red roofs), and the Edinburgh Castle from 287 steps up the Walter Scott Monument! I'll bring out a picture of the monument when we read him in August;) Not that you couldn't just look it up or something.... 

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Have a good day wherever you are!

Charles Dickens Wrap-up '14

Jan 7, 2015

I'll blame my tardiness on an unrelenting bug I picked up somewhere in Edinburgh which has followed me home and has let loose its fury! I've got some energy back today, but am continuing to breeze through tissue boxes and cough drops like nobodys business. 

BUT- Scotland was great! We had such a fun time and saw a lot. Maybe some more pictures will show up on here. The photo above was taken on a hike we did near Holyrood Park in Edinburgh on New Years Day. You can see the city below. This was not the summit... my phone died before we got there and I hadn't brought my real camera because it was raining and I didn't want to get it wet. Which was wise because everything else got wet. Like through all the layers. Sterling even had little ponds at the bottom of his shoes. 

Oh the wind!!! 

You could actually lean into the wind and not fall over. Running with the wind on the open areas was like getting running lessons from a gazelle- more distance with less effort! It helped with the upward climb because the wind was at our backs. 

As for Dickens....

I enjoyed reading A Christmas Carol. 

I like how Charles Dickens builds himself into his stories... he has not only put the story on paper, but his persona as a storyteller is there with the audience as they read it.

"The curtains of his bed were drawn aside; and Scrooge, starting up into a half-recumbent attitude, found himself face to face with the unearthly visitor who drew them: as close to it as I am now to you, and I am standing in spirit at your elbow."

"If you should happen, by any unlikely chance, to know a man more blest in a laugh than Scrooge's nephew, all I can say is, I should like to know him too."