It’s strawberry season again, but this year seems to be a washout. Blame it on the rain and the lack of sunny days. The local berries are just coming in but they are so sour I’ve decided to wait a week hoping we’ll get some sunnier weather. The kitchen reno is still ongoing so I can’t bake a shortcake or make jam anyway.
For every one sweet one ripening in my little garden plot, there are two that make your mouth pucker. Maybe that’s why the birds are leaving them alone? And here I thought those plastic snakes I bought at the dollar store were working!
This was a tip from another blogger last summer, as plastic snakes are supposed to act as a deterrent to the birds. Walmart was out of snakes, so these are cheaper versions from Dollarama and the clerk told me they work so well they can’t keep them in stock. They look more like skinny worms to me – and neon pink and blue? Those birds must be color blind, but upon further research it appears birds have better visual acuity than humans and can see UV light and a wider range of colors. I suspect they must be waiting for sweeter fare too.
So I’ll leave you with a link to better days and last year’s blog, Strawberry Fields Forever,plus some Jane Austen.
If you’re not fortunate enough to get away for a vacation this year, what better activity than to curl up with a travel book and listen to the March winds howl, (like a lion the same way they came in). Last year I wandered into the travel section at bookoutlet.com and never left. There are so many wonderful travel books available, it’s difficult to narrow it down to just a few, but here are some of my personal favorites. (Warning: travel memoirs can be equal parts enjoyable and annoying. There can be a fine line between reading about someone’s wonderful experiences in a sunnier place, especially when you are still in the dull dreary dregs of winter, and resenting the hell out them. But remember there can be comfort in staying home too…see The Golden Age of Travel post).
The Pioneer
Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim, was published in 1923, and could be called the first travel memoir of it’s kind. Set in Italy, I profiled it in a blog last year – see link. How could a book with a captivating opening sentence like this, not be good.
“To those who appreciate wisteria and sunshine. Small medieval Italian castle on the shores of the Mediterranean to be let furnished for the month of April. Necessary servants remain. Z, Box 1000, The Times.”
The King and Queen
A Year in Provence (1989) by Peter Mayle was the first travel memoir I read, and I found it LOL funny. He went on to write a whole series of memoirs (read) and a few novels (not read), about Provence. He made Provence so famous that at one time he moved to Long Island to get away from all the publicity. He died last year, shortly after his last Provence book was published, My Twenty-Five Years in Provence – Reflections on Then and Now, (read) which is a summary of his life there.
If Peter Mayle is the King, then Frances Mayes, of Under the Tuscan Sun fame, is the Queen, and she made Tuscany a very popular place to visit. It’s been 25 years since her bestselling book, and she has written wrote four or five more travel books, (read) and has a new one coming out this year – See You in the Piazza – New Places to Discover in Italy.(on order) She also wrote a novel, Women in Sunlight, last year, which I found so unreadable that I can not recommend it. I’m still not sure how a novel about four women who travel to Italy can miss, but it did. Travel memoirs are definitely her forte.
My Personal Favorite
Susan Branch is my personal favorite of all the travel writers. For those who think of her as just The Heart of the Home cookbook author, did you know that after she lost her publishing contract with Little and Brown in 2009, she started self-publishing and now has a trilogy of marvelous illustrated journals, with a fourth on the way next year about England, Ireland and Wales. Her first, Martha’s Vineyard, Isle of Dreams, is about her move from CA to Martha’s Vineyard in the 80’s after a divorce, which I enjoyed as that is a part of the world I would love to visit. (Her second is about growing up in the 60’s and 70’s and is not really a travel book, but more a memoir of her youth).
Her third, A Fine Romance, is about her trip to England and is full of photos and watercolor illustrations, of such sites as Beatrix Potter’s farm in the Lake District and the Jane Austen House in Chawton.
I find her monthly newsletters inspiring, and you can check out her books and order them from her website. I wish she would venture into France and Italy.
A Paris Year – Janice MacLeod
All About Paris
One of my favorite books about Paris, is Janice McLeod’s, A Paris Year, which I profiled last year in a blog titled, April in Paris – Part Two. A watercolor artist, her journal is illustrated with her own artwork, and is a quirky and whimsical look at her day to day life in Paris.
A Paris Year – Janice MacLeod
Italy Revisited
Marlena de Blasi has written three memoirs about Italy – A Thousand Days in Venice, A Thousand Days in Tuscany and The Lady in the Palazzo – At Home in Umbria, which was my favorite of the three. Her books are well-written and often poetic, but sometimes irritating with respect to her ex-pat mentality and whining about their failure to fit into a foreign culture. So if you want to read about someone who makes an impulsive decision to buy a run down palazzo and then complains about how long it takes to renovate it, then this book is for you. So much of appreciating a travel memoir is based on finding the essayist appealing, still it’s an interesting if illogical journey.
My Current Read
Elizabeth Bard wrote Lunch in Paris – A Love Story with Recipes, about her move to Paris and subsequent marriage to a Parisian, which was good, even if I wasn’t much interested in the cooking part, (there are recipes at the end of each chapter). But I am really liking her second book, Picnic in Provence – a Memoir with Recipes, about their move to a small village in Provence, with their young son. The writing is honest and real and so well done, that it’s easy to overlook the fact that she has a wee bit of a privileged princess attitude.
My Latest Discovery
My latest discovery is Vivian Swift, another watercolor artist, found while browsing the bookoutlet website. (I feel like I’m regressing to my childhood with all these picture books!) Le Road Trip – A Traveler’s Journal of Love and France – is a self-illustrated memoir of her fun and whimsical jaunt through France on her honeymoon.
Her latest book (2015) entitled, When Wanderers Cease to Roam – A Traveler’s Journal of Staying Put details the pleasures of finding a place to call home (Long Island Sound) after 23 years of wandering – because sometimes there’s nothing nicer than staying home and reading about travel!
As you can see, my tastes run to England, France and Italy. But there’s a whole wide world out there. What is your favorite travel book?
“What if there was an algorithm that could reveal the secret DNA of bestsellers, regardless of their genre? Thanks to authors Jodie Archer and Matthew Jockers such an algorithm exists, and the results bring fresh insight into how fiction works and why we read.”
This jacket blurb of The Bestseller Code – Anatomy of the Bestseller Novel promises to unlock all the secrets.
As a scientific person I found the computer analysis of the DNA which makes a book a bestseller very interesting, but I’m not sure you can distill the magic of writing down to such generic common denominators. Still this was a worthwhile read, especially considering the growing field of AI. Plus we all like to read about books like The Help being rejected multiple times, as it gives us hope….
Although this book was published in 2016 it only recently came to my attention, through another blogger’s review. As I had half-jokingly written in my One Year Blogging Anniversary of my wish to write a murder mystery, I thought reading this book might give me some tips as to what might sell in the unpredictable world of publishing. Normally I do my book reviews on Goodreads, but as there are many writers on WordPress who may secretly be harboring the wish to write a novel or are actively pursuing that goal, this book might be of interest to some. I made notes, as it was a library book and had to be returned prior to posting this.
Some points and random notes: (The observations in brackets are mine)
Pg 3 In the US about 50-55,000 works of fiction are published every year. Of these, about 200-250 make the New York Time bestseller list. That’s less than half a percent. (The odds are slim).
Pg 3. The sudden and seemingly blessed success of books like the Dragon Tattoo Trilogy, 50 Shades of Gray, The Help, Gone Girl and The DaVinci Code is considered as lucky as winning the lottery. But is it really? After feeding 20,000 books into a computer program and developing an algorithm, the authors feel they can predict with a fair degree of accuracy which ones will make the bestseller list due to certain common characteristics.
Pg. 27 you have about 350 pages to take us somewhere and back. Journeying is the main thing, as is the theme/topic of human closeness/connection. (The Goldfinch was awful, 600 pages of nothing. So was All the Light We Cannot See. But Gone with the Wind was wonderful at over 1,000).
The average age of the heroine is 28??? (With Mary Higgins Clark it is usually 32, although lately they have aged a bit with her. I’m not sure age matters that much as long as you have sympathy for the character. I never thought I would read a Young Adult novel but Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games was totally captivating. I loved the middle-aged protagonist in The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, but those four sixtyish women in Frances Mayes new novel, Women in Sunlight, annoyed me to such an extent that I would not recommend the book to anyone….yes, four main characters that I could not keep straight and not one likable. Tuscany was the best part of the book by far).
There was a chapter devoted to themes and topics, what sells best, crime/legal thrillers/romance etc, and getting the right topics in the right proportions. The computer model picked Danielle Steel and John Grisham as the two names who did this best. (But then how to explain the success of Orphan Train, Water for Elephants, The Help, all diverse topics indeed. The Help was rejected 60 times, mostly because editors thought the topic, black maids in the South in the 1950’s, would not be of interest to anyone. I remember someone reading Water for Elephants in the lunch room at work and saying what a really good book it was and thinking they were crazy, who would want to read a novel about the circus during the depression? After I read it, I thought it quite wonderful).
Pg 67 – The most common topic among bestselling writers was human closeness and human connection, which crosses all genres. (perhaps self-evident as books do tend to be about people?)
Pg 89 – There are seven different types of plot-lines with sample charts of peaks and valleys. You must hook your reader within the first 40 pages or they will nod off forever. (I persisted through 150 opening pages about thet the poor and lonely protagonist in Ruth Ware’s latest The Death of Mrs. Westaway and was glad I stuck it out, as the last half was well worth it. Some novels are slow going at the beginning).
Pg 115 The compute algorithm could detect with great accuracy whether a book was written by a female or male, even those such as JK Rowling writing under aliases.
Pg 121 Opening sentences must be gripping and create an authentic preferably active voice, but a comparison of the opening sentence of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice with a Jackie Collins novel??? (I think not. It is a truth universally acknowledged that one is classy and one is trashy. But then the authors appear to have an obsession with the success of Fifty Shades of Gray/Garbage).
Pg 136 Sentences do not need decorating with additional clauses. Verbs prefer not to be followed with a string of really very pretty lovely little words ending in ly. (Oh no…my nemesis….sighs sadly). The sentences of the bestseller are not gaudy Christmas trees, carrying the weight of lights and baubles and tinsel and angels and stars. Better the plain fir tree brought into simple relief. (But wouldn’t that be like imitating Hemingway who famously never used a word you needed to look up in a dictionary and ignoring Dickens whose verbose descriptions ran on forever?)
Pg. 148 There was a chapter on the dark heroine or the Girl phenomena – The Dragon Girl, Gone Girl, The Girl on the train. The Girl is not your average heroine. What is their popularity saying about our society? (These are strong women, but are they nice? Is this anything new – Scarlet O’Hara was not nice either – she was strong, selfish and determined. Frail Melanie Wilkes was the nice one, but where did it get her in the end – she died young).
Pg. 194 In the final chapter, the computer picked the one novel 100% most likely to succeed. (I will not spoil it for you, but it was not a book or an author I was familiar with, nor do I have any desire to read based on subject matter, but it was somewhat ironic).
Pg. 209 In the epilogue there was a discussion about whether we will ever see a machine-written novel. As far back as 1952 they tried to set up a program for a computer to write a love letter by feeding it common words used in such, but it was a complete failure, (and sounded like one of those spam comments I occasionally receive on WordPress – “It is lovely worth sufficient for me. In my view, if all siteowners and bloggers made excellent content as you probably did, the web will probably be much more helpful than ever before. I can help make very pretty….” Poor Mr. SpamBot is not going to get anywhere using all those adjectives that end in ly!)
To sum up, while this was a worthwhile and interesting read, but other than a few tidbits, I don’t think there was any major earth-shattering advice or analysis offered. It was based on what was popular at the moment, but tastes change. Some books endure, and others don’t. I believe most writers write about what they find interesting, which is what makes the book world so diverse and unpredictable….and magical. While common denominators may predict a winning formula for what sells, you can’t sell your soul either trying to imitate them. I do read some of the authors on the bestseller lists, Jodi Picoult, John Grisham, Kate Morton, Elin Hilderbrand, (all of their latest books have been great), but not others such as James Patterson and never ever Danielle Steele or Gray Garbager. I don’t care how much money they make. An analogy would be, while there may be a large market for reality TV shows, how many times do we tune in because that is all there seems to be on TV? Shouldn’t we strive for something unique, something better than the norm no matter how well it sells….or just be content with more of the same…luckily as both readers and writers we get to decide.
Perhaps we should turn to Jane Austen, who has endured over the centuries, for some writerly inspiration.
This was an entertaining guide to writing by a five times great niece of Jane Austen who has also been writer-in-residence at the Jane Austen House Museum, and so is well qualified to write about her methods, characterization and plotting. There were some useful tips such as writing an autobiographical sketch on each character, but I found the extensive quoting of large swaths of JA’s novels (sometimes for pages and pages), to be irksome, and in truth I skimmed most of it only ever having read P&P and Emma. There were lots of exercises suitable to a classroom setting. In truth, a book only for true Janeites, who know the novels inside out.
Last spring, I picked up The Jane Austen’s Writer’s Manual, by Rebecca Smith, at a discount store. Written by a many-times great descendant of Jane Austen, it too had some interesting points, but as it quoted extensively from her seven novels, (at least half the book consisted of pages of direct quotations), I found myself just skimming it. Jane Austen had many years between the first drafts of her novels and the finished products, long enough to perfect them into the polished gems they were. One of the most useful pieces of advice in this book was to write an autobiography of each of the characters before you start. But then what about writers who don’t write with any plot-line in mind, and just let the story and characters evolve? Sometimes characters have a mind of their own and may take you places you might never even have thought of. Plan the ending scene before you begin. I believe Jane did this, but as all six of her completed novels end with weddings, the happy endings readers have been longing for, that’s not much of a stretch. Much of the book was devoted to writing exercises as the author holds writing workshops at the Jane Austen House Museum. This book is probably more for true Janeites, of which I am not, having only ever read P&P and Emma a long time ago. I find her life more fascinating than her books, as is sometimes the case with writers.
Although I read this book well over twenty years ago, it remains the best book on writing that I have ever read. Time to re-read it again, plus I loved the inspiration for the title. When you are overwhelmed, that’s what you need to do, take it bird by bird…..or rather page by page.
Although it’s been twenty years, the best advice manual I have ever read on writing, was Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. I have a copy somewhere down on the basement bookshelves…..I should re-read it, but that would be procrastinating…..
Best to just get on with it then……
So, we need a 28 year old Girl Detective who is vacationing in Provence when she sees a man walking up the lane of her rented farmhouse. There has been a dead body discovered in the nearby sunflower fields. (see April in Paris Part Two blog for the muse of this story). It is Monsieur Darcie Leduc, une inspector with the French police force, (but much more Mr.Darcy-like than Hercules Peroit with his ridiculous mustache and undiagnosed OCD).
Opening sentence: “Paige Protagonist was tired of thinking for everyone. She had come to Provence to rest, mind body and soul, and intended not to think of a single thing for the next two weeks. Let them solve all their own problems back home – she would not be there. She would be here on this lovely terrace with a glass of wine in hand, looking out over the lavender fields…..and wondering who was that man walking up the lane to the farmhouse.”
Um……would a 28year old be tired of thinking for everyone….no…..best to make her older….and that “lovely” adjective has got to go. I think I’ll rest now. I don’t want to overdo it….a little at a time…..page by page….
PS. On Cyber-Monday I was browsing on the http://www.bookoutlet.com site for books about Provence when I noticed that this story has been done before, several times, and the proof is in the remainder bin, but alas, as John Grisham said in a recent writing workshop podcast, everything has been done before. I hope Santa brings me a nice plot-line and some characters for Christmas as I have no idea where to go from here…..
A month ago, Chomeuse with a Chou, knowing how much I love quotes, challenged me to a repeat of the Three Days Three Quotes Challenge. The whole month of May was devoted to gardening and all things floral, so I set it aside to ponder while digging in the dirt. And speaking of dirt, while viewing the Royal Wedding on Saturday, this Jane Austen quote came to mind as being particularly appropriate, because who doesn’t love a little gossip.
While the royals would hardly be considered my neighbors, I do live in a commonwealth country, (which makes me common and them royal), and I remember learning God Save the Queen years ago in grade school, but otherwise the monarchy doesn’t mean much here in Canada anymore, other than the occasional royal visit, which are few and far between now as people complain about the wasted tax dollars. (Imagine how you would feel if people wereexpected to give you a party but then complained about the cost – would you want to go?) I am not a royal-watcher but I do have a bit of a soft spot for the Queen as she is the same age as my mum and she has been through so much in her sixty-year reign. So, a few random observations about the wedding of Harry and Megs.
I thought the Queen looked lovely and spring-like in her lime green and purple ensemble – so kudos to whoever put that combination together, plus Prince Philip was looking dapper and quite spry too – no cane two months after hip surgery at97!
I remember getting up at 5 am to watch Lady Diana’s fairy-tale wedding (and we all know how that turned out, poor girl), but on Saturday I slept in until 7:30 and woke up just as they were saying their vows, so I missed the grand entrance into the church but like fashionistas everywhere all I wanted was to see The Dress. I think it is the nicest royal wedding dress yet. Lady Diana’s was lovely and fitting for a young girl of 21, full of frills and bows and puffy sleeves in the style of the time, but Meghan’s was classic and elegant, in an Audrey Hepburnish way. It was covered, and form-fitting, but not too tight, and no cleavage, (I hate it when brides yank at their strapless gowns to pull them up), so everyone’s attention was on her face. (Beyonce-lovers of the barely-there-strategically-placed-cut-out look should take note of what true elegance is). The veil was exquisite with the additional feature of all that embroidery representing the 52 countries in the commonwealth. Her hair was lovely too, a simple chignon, but those strands on the one side that she kept pushing back annoyed the heck out of me so I can imagine how she felt, plus they ruined the first kiss by dangling inher face. Was it a windy day? Was there a shortage of hairspray? Or maybe they were supposed to be there, as in one of the official photographs they have pulled them out even more, perhaps a quick repair job? Conversely, I did not at all like the dress she wore to the evening reception, some high-necked halter thing that looked saggy in front, but I did like that little Jag convertible, very James Bondish. Imagine driving away to your reception in that little gem.
The bridesmaids and pages were cute, butthere should be an age limit on that position. That littlest toddler waddled up the aisle like she was still in diapers. As for Charlotte, she has that royal wave down pat, but no child should be required to wear a hair wreath with flowers bigger than she is. The Mulroney page boys were cute, even if they did photobomb the entrance pic with their missing-teeth grins. One of my favorite pics was a silhouette of the twins holding up her train at the entrance to the church.
Meghan seemed to be a very composed, relaxed, happy bride, but wouldn’t you expect a bit of nerves on your big day? I suppose if you were an actress you would be skilled at covering it up. I recall Kate barely cracked a smile in the church on her wedding day, and looked pale and tired, (plus her and Wills barely glanced at each other so nervous were they), and Diana who was young and nervous (and searching for Camilla), also looked tired under her veil. In contrast Megan was smiling and looked rested, like she’d had a good night’s sleep. But perhaps that is the difference between an introvert and an extrovert. Anintrovert doesn’t like being the center of attention, (especially when millions of people are watching), while an extrovert actually enjoys it, and as an actress she would be used to having all eyes upon her. If she was nervous, it didn’t show. She certainly has a lot of poise, which is admirable in a way. But all that gaze-into-your eyes and smiling just seemed a wee bit much to me, (like roll playing to the camera), but maybe it just seemed excessive in contrast to the rest of the royals and guests none of whom looked very excited. Maybe it’s against protocol to smile on such a solemn dignified occasion? When they panned the camera over the pews, all I saw was a bunch of blank stoic faces, probably thinking, let’s get this over with and on to the party, although even coming out of the church they didn’t seem like a very joyful crowd. (This could just have been the Canadian telecast however, maybe others had a different point of view?)
The guests: Amal Clooney. If you are that tall, you don’t need sky high heels, even if you do have bored-looking George to cling to if you feel off balance, but no one should ever wear mustard yellow, so pass on the mustard unless you’re at a barbecue. And why oh why did they keep showing Harry’s old girlfriend – she’s jolly well relieved she didn’t sign up for all that pomp and circumstance. Oprah, that dress was too tight, and too pink, and that hat way too extravagant. I didn’t recognize anyone else, but I am not a big TV watcher, and have never seen a singleepisode of Suits even though it was filmed in Toronto.
Meghan’s mother did well to survive all the attention with dignity and style. She looked nice in her soft green but should have had a better hat. She must be commended for raising such a strong, confident daughter, (and Lady Diana likewise. I hope she was looking down with love on Harry’s special day). Hers was the only face I saw which showed any true emotion, as she was fighting back tears several times. Hey, it’s a wedding, it’s okay to get weepy, although Harry apparently wiped a few tears away too. I felt sorry for her being the only member of her family in attendance, as anyone who has ever gone to the wedding of a friend or colleague and known absolutely no one can sympathize. I just hope they didn’t stick her at the singles table. I felt bad about what the media did to Meghan’s dad before the wedding, but have to wonder, if she’s been going out with Harry for two years, and engaged for six months, and if the news reports are correct that her father had never even met Harry, well that should tell you something. But what would a wedding be without some family dynamics or someone from either side disapproving? Wedding drama always reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Pride and Prejudice.
Although single, Jane Austen had many quotes on the marital state, being the astute observer of human nature that she was. She was a great defender of marrying for love, which was not a common theme in her time, as women were in need of financial support and expected to marry well to have advantages in life, (ie a carriage instead of a Jag). Although it must be said, no one really knows what goes on in a marriage except the couple, as a seemingly ill-suited match might be perfectly happy, while a perfect looking marriage might be hell.
Hats – the day was full of women of all ages in silly hats – if you are going to wear a hat, make it a hat, not a six-inch fascinator. But Kate’s and Camilla’s hats were too elaborate and must have been strategically designed to hide their faces during the service. They were even looking down when the vows were being said. Perhaps they were in shock over the sermon, (does love require a 15 minute sermon, or did the happy couple know he was going to go on and on), and that gospel song I haven’t heard in decades and would rather forget. As Meghan apparently attended a Catholic high school, (where she wore a navy and white uniform similar in ugliness to mine), I’m not sure what religion she is, if any? If that was a nod to her heritage that’s fine, but it did leave me wondering. I did however love the wide-brimmed hat she wore at her first post-wedding appearance – very chic. I have faith in her choice of hats. Except for the Queen, (I loved the purple sprigs on her matching hat), the rest of you ladies are hereby sentenced to watch reruns of Downton Abbey – take notes – not a bad hat to be seen in all six seasons.
Mr. Darcy – Harry was Harry, a decent chap, red and scruffy as usual. (I know grizzly beards are in style, but could he have shaved on his wedding day? His bride was perfection, while he looked ungroomed, pardon the pun). Appearances aside, they seem well suited as a couple. What impressed me was the fact they had gone to Botswana, (must be one of the 52 commonwealth countries), for a three week vacation early in their relationship. Perhaps they just wanted to be alone, but any couple who can safari together can probably live together. But who knows maybe it was glam camping. But then she will be glam living. (Perhaps she was very smiley at a future of not having to work, clean house, do laundry etc. There’s something to be said for having servants, not to mention an unlimited clothing allowance). Plus, if you can handle a herd of wildebeests on safari, you can probably handle the paparazzi. I’m sure she knows what she’s getting into and has the poise and confidence to handle it. I wish them all the best in their married life. As Jane said, they have as good a chance as anyone.
The weather gods certainly smiled on them – it was a picture-perfect day for a wedding, and there’s nothing like some sunshine to light up the mood of the waiting crowds. Even the horses were in high spirits. I noticed they were having a really hard time controlling some of them in the carriage procession. I’ve often wondered who cleans up the streets afterwards? Maybe they don’t feed them beforehand and they were hungry and galloping towards the stables…
Speaking of food, I made tea and rhubarb scones in honor of the occasion while watching the two hour recap in the evening, but the recipe was not the best, so I won’t post it. I should have known better, as it did not have any butter just cream, and the oven temp said 400, which in my oven should be 350, so they turned out burnt on the bottom and soggy in the middle and rather tasteless overall. But they were certainly edible with some strawberry jam, and it gave me a chance to use my new blue teapot. As my grandmother used to say, “there’s a lid for every teapot.” I think I’ll stop now, as I have exceeded my three quotes.
The grande finale. I would like to thank Chomeuse with a Chou for nominating me for this challenging literary exercise. (see Days One and Two for previous quotes and some shameless PR). What to chose? My mind is abuzz with numerous quotes, I cannot chose just one. It is so distressing. (“I will be calm – I will be mistress of myself.” – Elinor Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility). I fear we must set dear Jane aside, lest the other literary greats feel neglected. I am waffling between Henry James and Edna St. Vincent Millay and as they both involve better weather than what we are currently having (snow flurries for Easter), they may prove inspirational as well.
Quote: “I will be the gladdest thing under the sun. I will touch a hundred flowers and not pick one.” (Edna St. Vincent Millay)
I picked this cheerful quote because it’s been a long cold snowy winter, but spring and gardening season are on the way, and won’t we all feel better with some sun and May flowers.
And after spring, comes summer….and the beach and beach reading.
Quote: “Summer afternoon – summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” (Henry James)
Here are the Rules:
1. Thank the person who nominated you
2. Post a quote for three consecutive days (1 quote for each day).
If anyone else who is reading this would like to participate, please feel free to join in and share!
If you are burning the candle at both ends like Edna and are pressed for time that’s okay. I acknowledge some people are not fans of awards, but this one is a fun and easy post…..if you like quotes that is! As Jane said, “one half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other.” (Emma)
Thanks to Chomeuse with a Chou for nominating me. (translation Unemployed with a Cabbage/wee tot – check out her humorous blog for tales of family life in rural France). I’m happy to be nominated as quotes are one of my favorite things, and I always try to sneak a quote into my weekly blog if I can find one which suits the theme. (see Shakespeare quote on last week’s insomnia blog Counting Sheep). I was thrilled to find an old copy of Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations at a book sale in January (see blog In Praise of Second Hand Books), because even though you can find quotes online, it’s nice to just browse and see what interests you. I could waste hours researching quotes and have a pretty journal for recording ones I might like to use in the future.
Of course, my favorite Quotess is Jane Austen, so I started with her on Day One and also for today’s quote. (plus recycling yesterday’s blog saves time as I am far behind, between taking the computer in to be repaired, figuring out my new Instant Pot pressure cooker, getting ready for Easter and pruning all the rose bushes today in case spring ever arrives.) Our dear Jane has so many famous quotes that there are entire books devoted to her wit and wisdom,so it is difficult to select just one. I wrote a blog for Valentine’s Day, An Interview with Jane Austen, based solely on her quotes, and had great fun doing it, and spent more hours than I care to admit. (This is a great idea – I can put in a plug for all my poor posts, past and future who would like more attention.)
Quote: “If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad.” (Northanger Abbey)
I love this quote because it speaks of the importance of travel to broaden your horizons and your outlook on life. I wish I had traveled more when I was younger and had the energy. It was a tossup between that quote and one by Hemingway, because I will be blogging next week on some literary adventures in April in Paris.
Quote of the Day: “If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.” (Ernest Hemingway – A Moveable Feast)
Here are the Rules:
1. Thank the person who nominated you
2. Post a quote for three consecutive days (1 quote for each day).
If anyone else who is reading this would like to participate, please feel free to let me know or just join in and share!
If you are pressed for time and would rather condense your three quotes into one post, that’s okay too. I acknowledge some people are not fans of awards, but this one is a fun and easy post…..if you like quotes that is! As Jane said, “one half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other.” (Emma)
I’m a Jane Austen fan. Although I would not consider myself a Janeite, whenever a new book comes out about her life I’m sure to check it out. Recently I saw this one, Jane Austen at Home, on the new releases list, and reviewed it on Goodreads.
Can there be such a thing as a bad book about Jane Austen – no. Even though we know every detail of her story, and there is really nothing new to be discovered about her life, (excepting the photo of the blue and white egg cup excavated at the Steventon Rectory), Austen fans still find any new book about her fascinating. This is a particularly satisfying read as it focuses more on her quest for a home – after all she is the author who wrote “There’s nothing like staying home for real comfort.” Of course, there are the usual biographical facts, literary and otherwise, seeming to focus more on her personal life, including her five marriage proposals, thus dispelling the myth that she was a lonely old spinster. (Really the woman was so intelligent as to be intimidating, and would she have been happy with any of them?) There is a satisfying number (40 pages or so) of footnotes, always a sign of a good biography, and some photographs, including said egg cup. A lovely read for commemorating the two hundredth anniversary of her death – we remain as captivated as ever.
A friend gave me The Wit and Wisdom of Jane Austen, (edited by Joelle Herr), for Christmas as she knew I was a fan, and it is full of her famous quotes and observations. Pride and Prejudice is my favorite Austen book, and then Emma, but some of the others I must admit I have never read, although I have seen the movie versions. It is her life that I find most intriguing. I often find authors lives to be as or sometimes more interesting than their books, (check out Margaret Mitchell’s biography for parallels to Gone with The Wind, the character of Rhett Butler was thought to be based on her first husband and Ashley Wilkes on her second). If you are a writer, you want to know where they got their ideas. Due to the lack of media back then and the passage of time we have little to base our conclusions upon, and baring someone discovering a cache of old letters in their great house, there is nothing new under the sun about Jane Austen, but we still can’t get enough of her life. She remains a puzzle, an enigma, we want to figure her out. A fellow blogger asked me which historical figure I would most like to interview, and my answer was Jane. And so, as Jane said, indulge your imagination in every possible flight.
An Interview with Jane Austen
Welcome to the BBC show, Portal to the Past. We would like to welcome renowned British author, Jane Austen. Even though she has been dead for over two hundred years she has been gracious enough to grant us this exclusive interview, and we thank her for the opportunity, because two centuries later we remain as fascinated by her as ever. (Cue opening pianoforte music link). Jane enters, wearing a white flowing Stella McCarthy gown, because a woman can never be too fine while she is all in white. (Camera man sighs, white is not good for the camera, adjusts lighting).
Host: Welcome Jane. Would you like some tea?
Jane: (demurely declines refreshments. She doesn’t want to smear her lipstick – imagine lipstick! Something to make your lips ruby-red and kiss-worthy. She wonders if she’ll get a free swag bag from Sephora).
Host:I’m so glad you could join us today.
Jane: There is nothing like staying home for real comfort, but if adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad.
Host: Did you ever imagine when you were sitting at your little writing table in Chawton Cottage, scribbling away about three or four families in a country village, that your novels would still be read two hundred years later?
Jane: (smiles sweetly) Alas, it is only a novel… or, in short, some work in which the greatest powers of the mind are displayed, in which the most thorough knowledge of human nature, the happiest delineation of its varieties, the liveliest effusions of wit and humor are conveyed to the world in the best chosen language.
Host: Did you ever dream that you would become so famous?
Jane: I have no talent for certainty, but I always had a quiet confidence in my abilities. The fame though was quite unexpected, though slight initially it has now has grown to such proportions that I find myself adorning the ten pound note. (blushes modestly). Pictures of perfection make me sick and wicked. I lay the blame on my nephew for that biography he penned. Fame can be a double-edged sword, for regrettably I have now lost all privacy, and sometimes when I want to pay a visit to Chawton Cottage, there are too many tourists milling about.
Host: (surprised) Are you saying you haunt your old sites?
Jane: I do enjoy dropping by occasionally, but the tourists, their fashion choices are really quite beyond comprehension. It would be mortifying to the feelings of many ladies, could they be made to understand how little the heart of man is affected by what is costly or new in their attire, but still…yoga pants and t-shirts. (shakes head, and thinks silently, for what do we live, but to make sport of our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn.) Chawton House was my only true home and I was very content there. Sometimes I like to sit at my little desk and recollect….or I might visit the kitchen if the new cook is on, because as you know good apple pies were a considerable part of our domestic happiness. As for my childhood home there is nothing remaining, although I read that a blue and white egg cup was discovered recently in an excavation at Steventon Rectory, but it wasn’t mine, it was Cassandra’s. An egg cup – really! Which of all my important nothings shall I tell you first. It seems like a fair bit of nonsense that people would be interested in such things, but that is the price of fame. One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other.
Host: Are you aware of how many copies of your books have sold, 20 million of Pride and Prejudice alone?
Jane: Yes it’s quite astonishing to be so immortal, but I wish I had the royalties. A single woman with a narrow income must be a ridiculous, disagreeable old maid, the proper sport of boys and girls; but a single woman of good fortune is always respectable, and may be as sensible and pleasant as anybody else.
Host: That portrait of you in the National Gallery, is it a fair likeness, because I’m not seeing too much of a resemblance? (it might be the makeup and hair blowout, thinks to self, but a little makeup can make even the plainest Jane quite pretty.)
Jane: I believe it has been photo-shopped too often to be an accurate portrayal. (ponders uploading a new photo via Instagram for the ten pound note). To look almost pretty is an acquisition of higher delight to a girl who has been looking plain the first fifteen years of her life than a beauty from her cradle can ever receive.
Host: Are you happy with your media image? The sweet loving demure persona, sunny Jane?
Jane: I must confess I was a bit annoyed with my sister Casandra for destroying most of my letters, especially the ones full of sarcasm and wit. The ones that survive make me out to be some sort of vapid ninny. I suppose she thought she was protecting my reputation…(sigh)…but she destroyed the best ones.
Host: You had five marriage proposals and turned them all down, did you ever regret being a spinster?
Jane: One should only marry for love. And the more I know of the world, the more am I convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love. I require so much! You must be the best judge of your own happiness.
Host: What do you think of the movie versions of your novels?
Jane: Some were of more merit than others, but Colin Firth was simply divine as Mr. Darcy. Such a handsome man. I wish I had thought of that wet shirt scene but that would have been too risqué for the era.
Host: Speaking of Mr. Darcy – who was the model for that darling man?
Jane: ………………(prolonged silence, that wasn’t in the script, looks extremely annoyed).
Host: (quickly changes subject). And that famous speech, let me tell you how ardently I admire and love you. Did people really talk like that back then?
Jane: HA, that speech……(contemplates laughing)…..Said. No. Man. Ever.
Host: Jane you seem to be well versed in the ways of the modern world, colloquial speech, photoshop, how do you know about all these things?
Jane: The afterlife is heaven – there’s plenty of time to read and learn new endeavors. With a book, you are regardless of time. You ask yourself, why did we wait for any thing? Why not seize the pleasure at once? How often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparation! There are balls and a fair bit of dancing, and dancing leads to romance, for to be fond of dancing is a certain step towards falling in love. If one has been forced into prudence in one’s youth, one can learn romance as one grows older.
Host: Well that sounds fascinating….romance in heaven. (eyes camera man signalling time’s up). Any advice for modern day lovers?
Jane: Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance. But don’t settle. Do anything rather than marry without affection. Wait for your own Mr. Darcy…..(flutters false eyelashes and smiles coyly)….I have found mine….
Host: Thank you Jane. (notices camera man motioning cut). You have delighted us long enough. Would you like more tea?
Jane: Thank you, but I must dash to Sephora before the portal closes and I have to return to the past.
And so there you have it folks, Jane in her own words. Like I said, nothing new there…..other than the blue and white egg cup was Cassandra’s.
(Disclaimer: I apologize in advance if I have messed up any of the quotes or facts as I am by no means an authority on Jane Austen, merely a fan. Next up, the Brontes – Branwell would be on board for sure, Charlotte and Anne might be tempted but Emily would never agree.)
so it is difficult to select just one. I wrote a blog for Valentine’s Day, 
![](https://chomeusewithachou.wordpress.com/">Chomeuse with a Chou </a>for nominating me. (translation Unemployed with a Cabbage/wee tot - check out her humorous blog for tales of family life in rural France). I'm happy to be nominated as quotes are one of my favorite things, and I always try to sneak a quote into my weekly blog if I can find one which suits the theme. (see Shakespeare quote on last week's insomnia blog <a href="https://thehomeplaceweb.com/2018/03/24/counting-sheep/">Counting Sheep</a>). I was thrilled to find an old copy of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations at a book sale in January (see blog<a href="https://thehomeplaceweb.com/2018/02/01/in-praise-of-second-hand-books/"> In Praise of Second Hand Books</a>), because even though you can find quotes online, it's nice to just browse and see what interests you. I could waste hours researching quotes and have a pretty journal for recording ones I might like to use in the future. <img class=" size-medium wp-image-3191 aligncenter" src="https://thehomeplaceweb.files.wordpress.com/2018/03/p3270005-2.jpg?w=482" alt="Monet notebook" width="241" height="300" />Of course, my favorite Quotess is Jane Austen, so I will start with her. She has so many famous quotes that there are entire books devoted to her wit and wisdom,<img class=" size-medium wp-image-3182 aligncenter" src="https://thehomeplaceweb.files.wordpress.com/2018/03/p2040053-4.jpg)
An egg cup – really! Which of all my important nothings shall I tell you first. It seems like a fair bit of nonsense that people would be interested in such things, but that is the price of fame. One half of the world cannot understand the pleasures of the other. 
thehomeplaceweb 