A Little Catch Up & Pride and Prejudice Fan Documentary

Summer break has finally begun for me.  Talk about a roller-coaster ride getting from the end of May until today.  Although the school year ended, I had to go to a conference for my online job on Monday, and lead a breakout session. That had me a bit keyed up.  Why, I don't know.

Besides getting ready for that breakout session, I had to drive home to help my mother pack up our family home to move down near me (4 hours away).  Saying goodbye to your childhood home is emotional!  I didn't enjoy that process at all.  You start just giving or throwing things away because you can't deal with all the stuff you've hung on to for years.  There is sentimental, and then there is hoarding.  Thankfully, the move is all over and my mom's stuff is now in my garage, waiting for her new place.  She found a nice place that went up for short sale, so we're crossing our fingers it doesn't take a year to get her into it.

Sadly, to top all this madness off, I ended up taking my first trip to the ER for a migraine.  NOT cool.  After moving everything into the garage, with the help of some family who came to help, I came down with a nasty migraine.  Three hours later, we were in the ER.  All I can say is thank goodness my mother was here to take me to the ER, and thank goodness for modern meds!

Well, on a bright note, I had a chance to catch a new BBC documentary coming out of the UK about Pride and Prejudice called "Pride and Prejudice: Having a Ball".  It's about an hour and a half and full of really cool historical information that helps us understand Mr. Darcy's comments about dancing and balls.  You should check it out!

Okay.  I'm off to get some errands checked off the list and then maybe home to do some reading!

Late Sunday Blatherings

Today has definitely been a lazy day, which is perfect for reading and relaxing.  I'm not 100% sure why last week was so difficult, especially since I've finished up my online classes that kept me so busy at night, but it was one of those weeks that seemed to never end!  On Friday, I wanted to shut the door to my classroom and just walk out on time, but I decided to stick it out and get my giant stack of late and absent work all put in the computer and a stack of projects all graded.  As much as I hate that, I love coming home to no big project hanging over my head.

This weekend I've been trying to finish up Dreaming of Mr. Darcy, which I started last week.  It's really good so far, although I've been tweeting about my thoughts on the "romance" that isn't seeming to be all that romantic.  I have high hopes that it's going to get better though, since it has so many awesome Austen themes mixed in with the modern story that is set in Lyme.  I love the mood of the novel and am now dying to spend a huge chunk of time in England, traveling to some of the towns mentioned in the book.

Outside of doing a bit of reading, I cleaned my house from top to bottom on Saturday.  I love how it smells, feels, and looks now!  I had done some surface cleaning, but I really gave it a good scrubbing on Saturday and can now face another work week with things put in order.

Well, that's my pretty boring weekend.  I have been a little out of sorts though, so I'm going to embrace life's small moments of boring-ness when I get it!  I like nesting a bit, with some nice chunks of time built in for reading.  What about you?  What has your weekend entailed? 

Now.  Off to get ready for the fourth installment of Downton Abbey!  I understand that I need a stack of Kleenexes ready for this particular episode, so I'll be ready. 

Another Masterpiece Classic: Small Island by Andrea Levy

Happy Sunday morning. To all those bleary-eyed readathoners this morning, I hope you had a great time yesterday. I wish I could have joined in the 24-hour Readathon, but I ended up taking off to attend a wedding reception in Idaho yesterday evening. It was a four hour drive up, a couple of hours sitting at a reception, and then another four hours back. Long day, but nice to see family and old friends.

I wanted to share an upcoming film on Masterpiece Classics on PBS that is based off of an amazing book by Andrea Levy, Small Island. Before my blog became a review site, I had already read Small Island at the suggestion of a respected grad school professor. My professor knew about my interests in the immigrant culture and in ethnic literature and contacted me to say I had to read this great book. Based on the experience of Jamaican immigrants trying to survive in England during the 1940's and 50's, we follow the lives of different characters who either cling to the dreams they have of an ideal island home, or who attempt to assimilate and become the ultimate British citizen to share in the dream of Empire.
Small Island was an amazing, fascinating, gut-wrenching reading experience. I thoroughly enjoyed the novel, and found myself considering how immigrants work to assimilate, often being turned away by the dominant culture they've been taught to idealize. The novel is a great jumping off point for discussing how our global community is changing and becoming more diverse, and I can't recommend it enough. If you like authors such as Zadie Smith of Jamaica Kincaid, I can assure you that you'll appreciate Levy's work.


On April 18th & 25th, Masterpiece Classic on PBS will be airing the film adaptation of Levy's novel Small Island. Reviews of the film (such as this one from the Telegraph) give it praise but aren't completely sold on the way the story is developed. As a fan of the novel, I'm eager to check it out for myself, and hope you will too.

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Triple Movie Review: Three Films in Review

I actually have had an opportunity to watch three different "period" pieces for the "Period Drama Challenge" that I'm involved with. Each of these films posed a different time, location, and dilemma, but were each very similar in their quest for some sort of growth. I hope you'll pardon me while I share three films for review, from different countries, and each for your consideration!

Moliere was an interesting film about a French man who traveled across France performing in various stage performances and theatricals. At the main juncture in the film, he is asked to tutor an aristocrat and help him create a play for a woman he is in love with (who is not his wife). Therein begins the "drama" and deceipt that also creates some serious humor in places. I can't say that I saw the historical connections between the historical figure Moliere, and the character in the film, but having said that, I didn't know that much about him other than that he was a playwright. I did find it interesting how the film played with the philosophies of life, questioning the position of "serious" drama versus comedies, as well as ones ethics. Much of the play was filled with broken relationships, bribery, and mistaken identity, which created an interesting film (with subtitles), but maybe not one I would readily return to. I did enjoy having exposure, yet again, to the themes and ideas of this time in French history. (For more information see: Moliere.)

I next skipped over to the British Isles, to see Nicholas Nickleby, by Charles Dickens. It didn't take me long into this BBC version of the film to quickly remember seeing another version of the film last year, which I actually liked better than this longer version. Both films center on the tragic life of Nicholas Nickleby, who is forced to serve as the teacher for a "boarding school" for boys during the Victorian Era. The deplorable conditions, and the reasons behind his forced service there, all boil down to social status and money; his mother and sister need support, his uncle doesn't want him around, and there is another big secret about his uncle that Nicholas will uncover while serving as the teacher. I don't want to reveal too much here, but will say that there are various plot lines to keep you engaged in the story. This version is not my favorite, and actually prefer the 2003 film; however, you do get a bit more of the story from this longer BBC version. (For more information see: Nicholas Nickleby.)

The final film I watched took place in the United States, The Inheritance, based off of a book by Louisa May Alcott. The main character, Edith Adelon is raised as the paid companion to her cousin, being an orphan that was saved from an orphanage in Italy. As the family awaits a trio of visitors for a local horse race, ideals of social standing and money come into play as the girls each begin to interact with the young men who arrive, as suitors. The two main young men fall for Edith, and jealousy ensues. Edith, however, shows herself of good breeding and character, hoping to help her cousin and create proper social etiquette among all her peers. The "inheritance" portion of the story comes into play later in the film, when Edith learns some shocking news that changes how she views the world, herself, and the men she has come to befriend. This was a cute film, although I will admit to being distracted through much of the movie. As for period pieces, this was a nice depiction of upper class society in the United States during (what I suspect) is the mid to late 1800's. (For more information see: The Inheritance.)

For this holiday weekend here in the United States, here are a few period dramas that might give you a bit of history and background on three different, unique times and places in history. These three reviews all are part of my "Period Drama Challenge" and bring me to 8 of 12 films by 1/7/2010.

My First ARC!!!

After a fairly nerve-wracking day (and no, for once it's not because of work), it was so exciting to return home to find a package with the "Meg Cabot" sticker I've heard about from other bloggers, sitting on my counter! Honestly, my heart gave a little jump, and I smiled because I knew I'd been chosen to review Meg Cabot's newest sequel to Airhead, Being Nikki. It's terribly exciting, and I need to get a move on. Unfortunately, after getting a bit of bad news about owing MEGA taxes this year, I've had a nasty headache brewing and think I'll be heading to bed early. More reading tomorrow! I really can't wait to dive in. :)

I did want to review a fantastic documentary I watched over the course of the last three days, "Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work." I caught the first episode of this five episode, BBC produced documentary about two months ago when I was flipping channels. Having a fascination with BBC productions, and of course with the Royals, I was instantly gripped by the film. Sadly, it was next to impossible to catch the real times it was being shown on PBS, so I checked the library and put it on hold. How silly though...no one else was even in the que to get this great piece!

Documenting the engagements kept by the Queen, the film follows the British monarch to a state visit to the U.S., showing to what extent everyone goes to in order to make her visit comfortable and monumental. It was interesting to watch the way the White House (actually not white, but "whisper") pulled out all the stops to put together a formal dinner, showing the presidential chinas being considered, and discussing George W. Bush's aversion to white tie events to begin with. You then follow this episode with other visits the queen makes, other dinners and presentations made at the palace in London, and even see her visit her famous home in Balmoral. It's all so fascinating! I don't know how she keeps to her schedule all the time, nor how she deals with talking & schmoozing with so many people all the time! The final episode actually shows her children, cousins, and grandchildren taking on royal duties as well, highlighting the seriousness with which they take their work, championing causes from around the UK.

If you're at all interested in Britain, or the royals, then I highly recommend this wonderfully fascinating documentary.

Wish I had some of the Queen's money about now...

Revenge and Tess

Yes, I should be in bed, but about two hours ago I hopped online to check on an assignment for a student, and he reamed me out on every response...for no reason! Since I don't have kids, I suppose this is what then keeps me up at night...my students. Man, do I need a life!

Anyway, I didn't mention that I've been catching up on various BBC films while I've been grading lately. Over the weekend, I watched the new release (actually not BBC) of Brideshead Revisited, which is a look at the last of the British aristocracy and their fight with maintaining social norms, family expectations, and religious pressures. It's not a feel-good sort of film, but I have to say that I really liked it because it made me want to go back to graduate school again and be in my Contemporary British Fiction class. Sigh...to discuss the impact of class structure on everything from basic friendships to gender identity was pretty fascinating. It's a bit deep and dark, so I can't say that I can recommend it to anyone interested in light and peaceful. For me though, the issues left me thinking long after the movie was over.



I also watched the film version of Tess of the D'Urbervilles. It is an amazing piece of cinematography, with beautiful landscapes and vibrant colors. The story is very nicely portrayed here as well, so overall, I really loved their keeping to the heart of Hardy's novel...especially since it's one of my favorite stories.


Once again, not a happy-ending sort of film, but holy cow...what a treasure of ideas and musings! I'm supposed to be throwing a film night for my AP students, next weekend. So here's the problem, towards the end of the film, a male character hops out of bed buck naked, to stand in front of the window to stare out at the "morning after." It's not really part of the story, but we know how creative license occurs. My problem is that I have to watch out for it when I know my students will be wanting to watch the film. Of course, now I'll be a huge Nervous Nelly, because I'll have to be right on my tiptoes to skip ahead long before we hit that scene! (P.S. Not a cute booty shot either!) Anyway, I do still think this is the best of all the Tess films I've seen.

To finish off, I wanted to share a book I finished tonight. Yes, after a hideous week of long hours so far...getting to work this morning at 6:30 am, I rushed home to read and unwind. I needed to finish Jo Barrett's novel This is How it Happened, so I pushed through to get it read and returned to the library.
The basic premise of this novel is that her ex-boyfriend basically used her the entire time they were together, to the point where he gets her fired from her job, steals her files of ideas, and makes it almost so that she can't get work again. The book opens with her spiking brownies with poison, and thereafter trying to come up with every possible way of getting even known to man. So, I can't say that the emotions she expressed in these scenes as being totally unfamiliar to me, so I felt for her. The bad side here is that I didn't necessarily like her or any other character all that much, so I didn't really believe the story as a whole. I've read another of Barrett's novels, which I remember being a so, so read for me at the time. Her narrative style and ideas are good, but somewhere in the middle of it all, I simply don't end up relating to the female leads she creates, and then don't like the story. Overall, not my favorite read, but okay.

Well, having said all this, I have to admit that I've had a horrible craving for my old graduate school fare. I went down and dug through my old Native American novels and books of theory, and literally felt a painful twinge in my chest. What I wouldn't give to be studying literature again! So I grabbed an armload of books and hauled them up to my already overrun room, in the hopes that I can read some Eldrich soon!

Celine Dion Concert & HOT Captain Wentworth!

What a crazy couple of weeks! Some days I feel that I have the most mundane, unimportant life ever, and other days I still feel that way....but feel as though I'm flying by the seat of my pants from one second to the next. There are so many things I overlook! I've had Valentine's cards since the second week of January, and STILL haven't mailed them. I have a couple of packages I need to mail, but just don't want to face that silly post office after work. Sigh. I'm feeling a bit like a lost cause. How do people do it all, and why can't I?!?

Anyway, I HAVE been reading, as it's really my one way of letting go of my stress and frustrations, but I haven't read anything of great importance lately. I'll quickly review a book I listened to on my drive to and from work though. Sleeping Arrangments, by Madeleine Wickham, was rather interesting. Wickham is actually Sophie Kinsella, the author of the Shopaholic series and others, which I really loved. Anyway, I'm not sure about her Wickham novels. I'm wondering why she's publishing these under this new name? Although, I have to say that for the two I've read/listened to, I haven't liked them as well as her Kinsella novels. Anyway...the story is about two families both promised a vacation stay at their friend's vacation home in Spain. The problem is, he doesn't tell them he double-booked them. The husband of the one couple, and the "girlfriend" (since they've been together for like 15 years but never married) of the other were once a couple that had a sad falling out and misunderstanding. You think that the story is going to be about the two of them leaving their spouses/partners and children to go with the other, so you watch to see what the background story is that's driving them together (and secretly wonder what is wrong with these two!?!...you just want them to get a grip).

To be quite honest, it was a bit jumbled in its telling. The two main characters bounced back and forth between mature clarity, and sappy romantic sympathies for one another so often that I had no faith in the development of the characters; you didn't honestly feel that these characters were reflective of real people that might be in this situation. I don't know...if I ran into my ex with his family some day down the road, I'd be more likely to run him over with my car than trying to hook up with him! :) So, not my favorite Kinsella novel...but interesting story idea.

Besides feeling paralyzed by the barrage of papers I have to grade, the daily demands of students, and all the "adult" problems of bills and household, I've been just trying to figure out my headache issue. I think I can isolate what's causing them, but I'm seriously going to beg for a lobotomy soon if they won't stop slowing me down! Anyway, I bought tickets for Celine Dion's world tour about a year and a half ago for my mom as a Christmas present. Well, mom arrived in November for the concert, but it ended up being cancelled until this past weekend, so Doc got to go with me to it. Besides starting at 8 pm (yes, I'm feeling like an old person...with a 5:15 am wake up call every day, anything that late is a nightmare), I downed a bunch of Advil to ward off the headache sure to come with those hideous noise levels you get at these concerts, and off we went. What can I say? Celine is a brilliant performer and amazing talent. She sang acapella a couple of times, showing that it really is her voice, which was AMAZING. She would sing her songs, climb these ramps, and hit high notes as if it was nothing! Honestly, she's one of the best, most talented vocalists that I've ever heard. In the end, she didn't sing one of my favorite "get me going" songs "That's the Way it is," but overall, she sang so many great ones that I love, that it didn't matter too much. In fact, she sang her duet with Andrea Boccelli, "The Prayer," which honestly got me through BYU after my dad died. These giant screens dropped to show Boccelli (since he obviously wasn't going to fly in for one song), and she sang the duet with him. SO BEAUTIFUL. Anyway, it was really great, and I'm sad my mom had to miss it. She would have told me it was too loud though.


Oh, so last week we had registrations for next year. To do that, they took all my juniors during English class. So in my AP classes, I let my seniors watch a Regency film to coincide with our reading of Tess. Being the loving teacher that I am, and SINGLE, I suggested (highly) that we watch the new version of Persuasion. If you haven't seen it yet...RUN to see it. It's SO good. Sigh... Makes me so happy. Unfortunately, I let it slip a couple of times how hot I think Captain Wentworth is in this version. Hot, hot, hot. I have to say though that I did have students (yes, all girls) that stayed after class to see the end of the movie, and those who couldn't have been begging me to bring it back to school and show them the ending. A couple of the boys in my classes said, "I don't get why you all think he's so hot!?!" One girl remarked, "He loved her for 8 years!!!" :) They made me giggle a little. I need to watch more of these films with my AP students. Their insights are so funny sometimes! Sigh... So, my recommendation for this week is to pick up the newest BBC remakes of Jane Austen classics. I obviously, and especially, loved Persuasion, so there you go!


Well, I have to run. I'm at school...as always. I need to get myself together for class today, so I better run. Until next time...adios!

Can't Sleep...

The inauguration is tomorrow. Anyone else excited?!? I'm a dorkus and a half, but I'm always moved by the swearing in of our president. Also, I love hearing the poem read by the invited poet for each inauguration. Maya Angelou's poem for Bill Clinton's inauguration back in 1992 still stands out in my memory.

Okay, so that's not why I can't sleep, but needless to say, I just can't sleep. It was a good weekend: mindless watching of Top Chef online on Friday night, sleeping until 1 pm on Saturday only to be followed by "chillin'" at home, baking bread and other such things I can't recall, and today working out, hanging with cousins, and watching Paul Bart: Mall Cop.


Okay, so Mall Cop was AWESOME and I give it two very high thumbs up. The story felt fresh and well written to me, and there were still things in the film that I didn't feel like I'd seen rehashed in a million other comedies. Honestly, I loved it, and I laughed so hard that my stomach literally hurt! So funny!

Oh, I also watched the first disc in the first season of Samantha Who through Netflix. I won't lie, I LOVED the show and can't wait to get disc two this week some time.


The acting by Christina Applegate is really good, the story feels fresh, and you find yourself wanting to find out about Samantha's past as much as she does! See, in the first episode, she wakes up from being in a coma, and it's only episode by episode that you find out she was kind of a scummy person and now regrets it or wants to rectify it. For a short 30 minute weekly show, I'm thinking I might have to tune in for this one because it's pretty good! I'll have to see if there are catch up episodes for this season online so that I don't get all behind. :)

Well, none of this solves my problem of not being able to sleep. I'm just anxious about going to work in the morning. Sigh... No, I haven't been reading much lately, which is strange. I've been REALLY tired, and sleeping or dreaming of sleep at any given moment. I'm taking my mutli-vitamin every day now, bought some more fruit, exercising 4-5 times a week, and trying to unwind early so that I can get to bed early. Having said that, I better get off of here and try reading until I get sleepy. If all else fails, there's some Nyquil that's sure to do the trick! :)

Happy Inauguration tomorrow. Yay for the democratic process and that we get to elect our leaders!

One HECK of a Week

Sigh...so glad it's "Fall Back" time so that I get an extra hour. This last week our grades were due, so honestly, I ran this grading marathon to wrap things up on Wednesday. In fact, I went right home and climbed into bed at 6:30 pm. Ah! :) You would think that would have gotten me by, but no such thing. Keeping up with all the students I've had who have been out with mono, surgeries, and other illnesses kept me busy even after grades were due. So, Thursday night I repeated Wednesday night! Friday, I didn't get a chance to go to bed that early, as Doc, Cool Breeze, and I met at Melting Pot to discuss Dracula, which none of us had technically finished. Doc had read it before though, and so we moved on to discussing what we'll be reading this month. I'll post another "small" post to let you know what it is!

Now off to what I've either picked away at over the last week, or tore through today out of a desperate need to do what I wanted. Well, first off I have to say how completely enamored I am again with Friends!


They saved my sanity these past couple of weeks, as I have kept them running in the background as I've graded papers, and as an escape from stress at night. I love them!


Last week I finally got my hands on a new BBC set of mini-stories based on four of Shakespeare's famous plays, Shakespeare Retold. I watched the Much Ado About Nothing modernization last weekend, but didn't get a chance to watch the three others until Saturday morning (because I had to take it back to the library). Admittedly, I'm not a huge Shakespeare fan (before you freak out...I DO know he's a genius of language), and since I was in a hurry to return this to the library, I sort of fast forwarded through the remaining tales on the discs. My favorite one though was Taming of the Shrew, which starred that one girl ghost in the Harry Potter films as the Shrew. It was actually pretty good!

I also woke early (6am!) this morning, so I grabbed a nice bowl of Fiber One Cereal (YUCK), and watched BBC's adaptation of Elizabeth Glaskell's novel Wives and Daughters.


Okay, so it was good...but...I HATED THE ENDING!!! Sigh. Why watch four hours of a movie if the ending can't match the tension created in the first 99% of the film!?! Yes, it made me a bit crazy. I won't say I didn't like it, but would it kill these uptight characters to lock lips for even the minutest, most congenial kiss!!!

So, the last thing on my list then is a quick review of a book I've been TRYING to pull myself through for over six weeks (I've renewed it three times, and it's due tomorrow!), The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen.
A student had recommended it to me last school year, and I had meant to read it over the summer, but selfishly read mass amounts of my favorite MEG CABOT. :) Well, as several people can tell you, when pushed repeatedly to read a book, I sometimes get stubborn as a mule and decide I don't want to read it. Now it's all subconscious...I promise, but I just balk and feel like I'm somehow not choosing the book. This book happened to fall into the category of, "I'm forcing you to read this and will pull my student-who-wants-your-feedback card if I have to!" I've seen a million girls (yes, I exaggerate) packing around Sarah Dessen novels, and maybe it's the pastel colors and sweet titles that made me vomit slightly into my mouth, but I'd made a promise, and I was bound by my oath as an English teacher that makes too many promises to read the thing. Guess what? It was pretty good. I'm not big on the "my dad died and now I have to get over it" plots (as too close to home and make me roll my eyes at the emotional manipulation), but once I sat down today (sorry...lounged in a nice bubble bath) to finish the last half of the book that I'd been picking at for weeks, it wasn't half bad. The story is engaging, and while not surprising, it still made me care about her. She packs her nerdy, genius boyfriend off to "Brain Camp" for the summer, to work his boring job at the library. He basically dumps her, and she picks up the pieces by kind of finding herself. Yes, there are other love interests who pop up, but that's all I'll say.

While a little sweetsy at times, I had to smile and think about how much I would have loved this story if it were the 16 year old version of myself. I would have probably started packing around every pastel-colored copy of a Sarah Dessen book on the planet. They are relatively clean, have characters who value their insides over their outsides, and have connections to their families. Overall, I'm happy to say I can go back to my student and tell her I read it, and actually kind of liked it.

Well, back to grading essays! From one book-sex-love-entertainment-free time-time off starved single gal to another...Mahalo, and I'll be back baby. :)

Eliot? Hmm...Guess I'm Not Interested???

I don't know why, but I always thought I'd love to tackle Eliot's famous novel Middlemarch. I realize that in a way Eliot's work tends to have characters that seem to be almost inhuman in their moral fortitude, which can be nice to see in fiction, but this particular story depressed me a little. Maybe I'm alone in feeling this way, but because the story was so long, and the number of characters that showed themselves to be corrupt or weak, really started to grate on my nerves. Yes, I get it...their bad behavior and weaknesses make her look like a real angel of mercy! Should I mention that I've gotten very little sleep over the past several days because I've been up grading for end of term??? Maybe I'm a bit cranky?!? Yes, I think that might be it! :) I watched the film while I have been grading, and maybe that's the problem, but I'm not sure if I'll be revisiting this particular story, nor reading it anytime soon. Well, back to finishing my literary term quizzes for my AP classes...sigh.

More Fall Break

Above is the trailer for "The Duchess" if you're interested.

Say goodbye to my fall break. :( :( :( Do you hear my heart rending into a million little pieces?!? The break has been really nice, even though I didn't touch all the papers I needed to grade. I did get a lot of reading done, ran a lot of errands that needed taken care of, and had lots of opportunity for rest and relaxation. I don't actually even know where the first two days of the break went, but Friday night Doc came down and we went out to dinner and the world's worst facade for an Italian restaurant! Seriously...horrid. I did finish off a book that night, as Doc immersed herself in a good book in the chair nearby.

Before I dive into a book review, I have to take a second to review "The Duchess," which Doc and I went to see Saturday night. We both love a good period drama, and were both really looking forward to this one, so we battled the soccer game mania on the streets of town (we have a new professional soccer stadium across the street from the theater), to go see this film. Well...what can I say? The costumes, hair, locations, homes, etc. were all breathtaking, and of course make you wish you could slip into that time period for a day or two, just to see what it's like; however, that's where the enjoyment all came to a screeching (and I mean screeching) halt. The premise of the entire film is basically about the life of a Duchess whose only purpose in life was to produce a male heir, regardless of the state of her marriage to the Duke, or should I say regardless of his relationship with every other maid or maiden on the planet? Gag! At this point in my life, and to all those who know my backstory, any culture that forces marriage on two people is pure CRAP. Once again, this film reiterated in my mind the pure evil nature of looking at marriage as some sort of business transaction, leaving its two bartered goods feeling empty and unable to find joy in anything except what they find outside their own home. I ramble. Anyway, it was depressing...to say the least. Doc and I left the theater convinced that marriage is impossible, and that love and happiness are even more of a fairytale than we had previously thought. Sigh...let's hope the next "period drama" I watch doesn't leave me quite so depressed!

Having said that...let me segway into a book review that I debated whether I'd admit to or not...as yes, it was a trashy romance! Okay, but here's the back story. So I follow a bunch of author and Jane Austen blogs. On one of the Austenite blogs they've been discussing how horrid all the fiction is that's been created about Pride and Prejudice. In my mind, it's a fine line, as one of my favorites Bridget Jones' Diary would not exist had it not lifted the plot from Austen. Well, one of the sites posted a brand new "romance" novel titled Seducing Mr. Darcy.

I happened to be heading to the library that night, so as I walked through to get my books on hold, I noticed that it was sitting on the "New Releases" shelf and picked it up. It sat here at my house for quite awhile until I picked it up on Friday, and finished it that same day. Yes, it's "trashy" and filled with innuendo (and not so innuendo), but I found myself laughing out loud and unable to put it down until I'd finished it later that night. The basic plot is that Flip, the main character, finds herself thinking she's dreamed herself a liason with Mr. Darcy, only to find that her "dream" has completely changed the plotline in the original novel. She then must solicit help from the resident scholar on loan from Cornell, British hottie and Austen know it all. As with any "bodice ripper," she and Mr. Knightley (yes, that's the scholar's name...and yes, it's a throwback to Mr. Knightley from Emma) have an undeniable chemistry. So, together they must try to right the storyline from the novel.

Overall, I thought the plot of the story was pretty funny, and a great approach to take towards the novel. Attempting to touch on such an iconic novel as Pride and Prejudice is pretty nervy, so I have to give Cready some credit at having done so without really putting the characters into the original too much.

Whew...what a mouthful for a blog entry! I'm actually hoping to finish Ana Godbersen's second novel Rumors today (the follow up to The Luxe) before I dive back into school to the point of insanity. Also, I'm about 50 pages into Dracula. If you're reading, tell me what you're thinking about it so far? I kind of like the writing style of Stoker and mentioned to the others that I like seeing good sentence construction. I know I'm crazy, but I think all those student essays have left me hungry for good writing and structure. Anyway, if you're reading, let me/us know!

Jane Eyre

I thought I'd actually finish reading Good Things this weekend, but after a fairly busy (in a good way) weekend, I just couldn't get it all finished up. I'm about to crawl into bed, forget the craziness that is ahead tomorrow, and will read until I doze off.

Having said that, the only thing I've accomplished in the way of literature, etc. was watching Masterpiece Theater's remake of Jane Eyre. I'd heard so much hubub about this most recent, rather lengthy version, but hadn't felt any real interest. Well, after getting it through Netflix, I've SLOWLY gotten through the movie, and can say that it's definitely good. I love classics made into film adaptations, and I really quite liked this version. (SPOILER ALERT ahead...) There is one particular scene where Rochester says to Jane, "I want you to pass through life as my second self, my best earthly companion...I love you like my own flesh." Holy cow! How stinking romantic!?! (SPOILER OVER) Maybe not the wisest choice of films to watch at the cusp of my 34th birthday, but there you have it. Sigh... What can I say other than it's a very good adaptation. Why am I such a sucker for period dramas and classic novels made into film? Aren't I a postmodern, contemporary fiction, ethnic literature, cultural studies nut? Well, I guess I'm just a true English major...with all that means. Yes, I have given up money in the pursuit of the lessons and ideals expressed and taught in literature.

Much Ado...

I have so much to report on, between period dramas and random readings! I just finished two books this weekend: Stori Telling by Tori Spelling, and Loving Will Shakespeare by Caroline Mackler. I don't think I could have read two more different books, but I'll talk about them in a minute. First, let's cover what I watch yesterday while I was down with the dreaded aches and pains of that wretched flu shot! Oh, and I'm actually feeling almost back to my normal self today...thank goodness.

As always, I've been watching "Lost in Austen," which I found out is only a four part show that ends this upcoming week. ITV slammed the door on watching it on YouTube, so thanks to a wonderful person on a blog I read, they mentioned that you could download them from a place called mininova. Admittedly, I went there with plenty of trepidation over dreaded viruses, etc., but my yearning for more Austen pushed me on. :) Anyway, last weekend I figured out the wonderful world of torrents, codecs, and downloading media. I now think I'm on my way to figuring out how to transfer my own media to my video IPod! Two cheers for my learned media-savi! Too funny. If I had more meaningful challenges in my life, I'd be tackling them, and NOT media players! Anyway, episode 3 was a real shocker, but made it so I can't wait until this week for the finale.


I've also been watching Robin Hood, Season 2. What a great show! And so free of any smut. I really love the show, and I look forward to each disc that comes in the mail through Netflix! I'm on the last disc, so rather than give away the shocking end to Season 2 that I've already somewhat heard about, I'll just say that I can't believe I have to wait until APRIL for BBC America to start broadcasting Season 3. I think I might be pulling out all the stops and downloading weekly episodes from mininova!

One last show I wanted to comment on is "Lilies," which was recommended to me by Netflix because of my penchant for period drama and anything BBC. Well, it is true that it's a BBC-North Ireland production based around post-WW1, but...well...


how do I put this? It's pretty postmodern in its take of the family its based on. I felt like I'd stepped back into the Pat Barker novel Regeneration that I had to read for my Postmodern British Lit. class in graduate school. It has it all: post traumatic stress, poverty, gender disparity, class issues, religious repression, and sexual orientation. It's pretty gritty, and while not some smutty R-rated piece, I can't say that it's a relaxing good time. Maybe watching it under the influence of antibiotics and a cocktail of other medications helped me get throug it? Nevertheless, even though I don't hate it, I definitely WON'T put it in the same category as my other BBC loves.

Maybe I should create a second post with my 411 on the books I've read? Yes, I think that might be better! Until later then, Cheers!

Get Thee To a Nunnery!

After teaching two sections of 12th grade English this summer, I had a few questions about my students' perception of Ophelia from Shakespeare's play Hamlet. Without spoiling the issue they had with Ophelia, and thereby ruining the book, let's just say that they thought that Hamlet and Ophelia's relationship went way beyond a promise and a flirtation. I kept scratching my head over the suppositions they kept making, until I picked up Lisa Klein's YA novel Ophelia.

While not my favorite read of the summer or even year, I could appreciate yet another remake of a "classic" tale. The language tries to imitate some of the sound of Shakespeare, but NOT at the same time. It's a pretty easy read, but feels familiar, and not just becuase I've read the play. I can't really put my finger on it, but even though it was a retelling and meant to be surprising, you really could tell where it was heading. Did I enjoy it? Well...it's not bad, but it's not one I'll be keeping around.

This has me wondering though what's up with us that we keep thirsting after and reading all these reworked stories? In a way, at least from my end, it's starting to get old! I know that sounds snobby, but after reading a slew of pretty horrid retellings, I'm ready for some pretty original thinking again. Sigh...I guess I am sounding snobby, especially after recommending "Lost in Austen" as a new TV series in Great Britain.

So far (and although you have to watch it on YouTube), I'm loving it! In fact, Doc sat in the recliner in my room while we watched the 2nd installment of the show from my 27" computer screen (huge discount on it when I bought my new HP this fall). It's whitty, engaging, and funny to watch this snarky Bridget-esque girl from the present step into Pride and Prejudice of the past. It's just fun!

One last recommendation, and then I'll head back to grading response papers (yuck!). As noted previously, I have a teenage-like, yet adult size crush on Richard Armitage. Well, he's currently starring in the BBC drama "Robin Hood." I actually just finished Netflixing the first Season last week, and spent yesterday and today watching the first two discs while I was grading papers. To tell you the truth, it really floats my boat. :) Not only is Armitage smoking hot in black leather as bad dude Guy Gisbourne (wait...is that the REAL reason I'm watching???), but the story is fun to watch. If you're looking for a clean series with action, history, and a nice dose of romance (oh, and hot guys in leather), then I heartily recommend getting your hands on "Robin Hood."


Well, I have midterms this next week, and about 100 papers left to grade, so my reading for pleasure or future GRE purposes could go decidedly downhill. :( So, until I return, Cheers!

P.S. Let me know if you've read or seen any of the things I've posted. I'd love to hear anyone's response about them! Oh, and "G" from KSU...If you read this, I'm still waiting for a link to your blog! :)