Caroline Bingley Vexing Mr. Darcy

A brief reading from Pride & Prejudice:
 

Also, it strikes me that Caroline is a typical sister in throwing her brother under the carriage for his alleged lack of writing skills.  Ha!  

How to Read Jane Austen

 

EVERYTHING ELSE MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO:

#janeaustenjuly is hosted by: Books & Things:    • Jane Austen July ...   Spinster's Library:    • Jane Austen July ...   Bookish Things:    • Jane Austen July ...   Nik The Booksmith's Jane Austen Digi-Kit (Printable): Video:    • A Journal for Jan...   Etsy Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheBooksmit... There are 2 kits; one with the Persuasion cover &accessories, and one with a reading / journal kit. BRAIN-BASED LEARNING-- Many books! But start with: "Brain-Based Learning: Teaching the Way Students Really Learn 3rd Edition" by Eric Jensen His website: https://www.jensenlearning.com/ for seminars, (Bonus! CEU's for teachers) "Smart Moves: Why Learning Is Not All In Your Head, Second Edition" by Carla Hannaford PRIDE & PREJUDICE: BBC 1995 is available on Amazon Prime for streaming Pride & Prejudice movie with Keira Knightly, ditto For funsies: Rachel Maksy "I Edited Myself Into Pride & Prejudice (2005)"    • I Edited Myself I...   This made me FINALLY watch the movie! On Audible: "The Jane Austen Collection: An Audible Original Drama" (Bonus! Emma Thompson!) Clark Kegley on how he uses puzzles:    • 4 habits that (ac...   JANE AUSTEN REGENCY BOOKS: "Jane Austen for Kids: Her Life, Writings, and World, with 21 Activities" by Nancy I. Sanders "What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist -- The Facts of Daily Life in Nineteenth-Century England" by Daniel Pool "Jane Austen's England" by Roy Adkins & Lesley Adkins "Elegant Etiquette in the Nineteenth Century" by Mallory James "The Writer's Guide to Everyday Life in Regency and Victorian England from 1811-1901" by Kristine Hughes "Jane's Fame: How Jane Austen Conquered the World" by Claire Harman

Upcoming July Events!

 

In honour of World Book Day . . .

Ryan Holiday, modern day Stoic has a quote that I'm paraphrasing-ish:

You don't have to have an opinion about everything.

Which I really appreciate, because honestly?  I can't keep up. It's a relief to have permission not to have an opinion.  Religion? Politics? Celebrity break-up? Meh. I'm not out to convert anyone and I live in a live-and-let-live world. I'm more interested in getting along and focusing on our similarities, not our differences. We're all a part of humanity. You know; we are the world and whatnot. But then I came across Ashley Tisdale:

And like the Millennial she is, I can't even. 

I realized:  Not only do I have an opinion, but I am offended. On the one hand, I get it: her money, her home, her aesthetic. That she's just so cheerful in her admittance of ignorance, and sent her husband to get books adds a whole 'nother layer of . . . VAPID. 

I was so incensed, I even created a graphic:

Old book image from here.

If you read through the comments, verbal sparring represents the two sides: people who actually read, and the rest of those other people. 

"What's the problem?  Books are decoration."  

Oh. My. Word. Do you not know how books work? And herein lies the problem: Ms. Tisdale wants the look of books, she just doesn't care about the actual books. Essentially, they are props. Their only purpose is to fill a space. They have no other meaning--and that is what is so offensive to a Bibliophile.   

Books are not decoration. Books are knowledge and learning. Books are entertainment and a portal into other worlds. Books remind us of where we've been and the possibilities of where we can go. Books say, "You're not alone." Books make you laugh and cry and celebrate and hope. Books satiate your curiosity and propel your wonder. Books expand your world and make you think. 

But only if you read them. 

You know that meme, Tell Me Without Telling Me?

To clear the palate and distaste of Ashley Tisdale's bookshelves, here are a few examples from other Bibliophiles.  THIS. THIS is what a bookcase is for:

"I had lots and lots of books, so that was an easy thing to add." 

Can we be friends?

This illustrates there is hope for the younger generations:

Lookit this guy's office!  The books. The BOOKS!

This Bibliomania:

Coming from a family of readers, one of the first questions I have with my sibs is, "What are you reading?"  It's always a topic of interest. 

Similar to the Tell Me Without Telling Me meme, show me your bookcase, and I can tell who you are: what your interests are, what you spend your time and money on.  What you spend time and money on is a larger indication of what you value. One of the things I appreciate about Ramit Sethi, is his Book-Buying Rule he tweeted: 

If you're "thinking about" buying a book, just buy it. Don't waste 5 secs debating. Even 1 idea makes it worth it.

YES!  Here is his list of book recommendations.

Let us end this blogpost with where we began; Ryan Holiday talking about books:

And here's a graphic for his book quote:

What are YOU currently reading?

Victorian Parasol Suckers: It was a THING

Image from New York Public Library

 I was reading this Victorian etiquette book . . . 

and I came across this passage:

"Youngsters these days!  Sucking on their parasols! What is the world coming to? Pray tell, what is next? Ladies wearing men's trousers and voting? Absolutely ridiculous. It is too much to be borne."

I'll leave you with some Public Domain images from Harper's Bazaar of ladies not sucking on their parasols:

In case you wanted to know what were the en vague (make that VOGUE) parasols:

 Circa 1870.

Gallery Wall

This is my office area.  When I moved in, I set up my computer on the peninsula between the kitchen and living room and then the decor evolved from there. To the left of the monitor is book wallpaper adhered to the back of a small shelf unit that I use as a divider "wall."  And it's extra shelf/storage in the kitchen. Above the monitor to the right were two cupboard doors that I removed and replaced with the bulletin board (which I've covered with lace). It houses kitchen stuff that's accessible from the kitchen.

Close-up of bookcase wallpaper & plants on top of shelf:

To the right of the monitor is more book wallpaper adhered to a piece of foamboard, to give a cohesive look and hide the back of the microwave:

Corner:

Close-up of corner:

Photos are of Mum's mum as young woman and at age 5, looking very Victorian!

Copper book plate for a fern book & a painting by my artist friend Betsy:

Full gallery wall:

The fabric is a fern eco-print from Nik The Booksmith and it covers a printer. To the right of that is a framed collection of dried flowers that I got at a thrift store: 

On the back, it says:

 

Detail of homage to Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward: 

Free floating moths are from The Graphics Fairy.

Complete with a mini-Wardian case from Dollar Tree:

Underneath the little shelf thingie:

Left to right: Professor Anderson, director of Chelsea Gardens, Dr. Asa Gray, botanist at Harvard, and Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward.

I suspect these to be 3 of NB Ward's children. The photos are from the Literary and Scientific Portrait Club: photographs by Maull & Polyblank, circa 1855. They look like siblings, and I see a resemblance to NB Ward:

More 19th century botanical artists and authors: 

Top, Left to Right: Helena Scott, her sister Harriet Scott with Harriet's moth painting between them.

Bottom, Left to Right: Kate Chopin, author of The Awakening, Anna Atkins, & Louisa May Alcott

To the right of all of them is Jane Austen, of course!

This a print from author and botanical artist, Christine Andreae:

She's like a modern day Edith Holden!

Fern print that camouflages the heat register:

Beatrix Potter with her dog Kep, at Hilltop Farm and Elizabeth Gaskell:

Here's a link to a video walk-thru.

Here are a coupla bonus pix of the "Parlour" area, not in the video:

Tabby Bobcat asleep on the recliner. Lady is curled up in the cat/beagle bed. The book graphic is actually a shower curtain that I adhered to the back of a cupboard unit, that I use as a "half wall." It was a lot easier to do that than my original idea of doing the book wallpaper.

And up above, is Yoda-Kitty in her "Hutch Lair":

Zzzzzzz . . . .   :-)

Wisdom from 1888

 The older generation has complaints about the younger generation!  This is from Wilkie Collins, in his book, My Miscellanies.